Joburg - The National Prosecuting Authority has issued a warrant of arrest for Avendra Naidoo, who is linked to the R54 million I-View tender, with strict instructions for his bail money to be provisionally forfeited.
This comes after Naidoo failed to appear with his co-accused in the multi-million-rand tender matter.
He is one of the senior police officers who procured software that would make it impossible for investigators to get their phone call records — at a time when the country’s top cop, Johannes Kgomotso Phahlane, was under investigation for irregular procurement.
Last year, the former national police commissioner Phahlane and his co-accused, Lieutenant-Colonel Godfrey Mahwayi, businessman Inbanathan Kistiah, Major-General Maanda Obert Nemutandzhela, Naidoo, Brainwave Projects 1323CC (as represented by accused two), and Major-General Mankosana Agnes Makhele were released on bail of R5 000, R10 000, and R50 000, and three of the accused were released on R20 000 bail each.
The seven suspects are facing charges ranging from draft indictments, including theft, corruption, collusion, wiping call records and failing to report deviations from tender procedure.
In a statement issued on Friday, NPA’s Investigative Directorate spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said Naidoo had 14 days to appear in court, failing which his bail money would be forfeited to the State.
“The Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court today issued a warrant of arrest with immediate effect for Avendra Naidoo, and for bail money to be provisionally forfeited to the State, for his failure to appear with his co-accused in the multi-million matter… They face charges of fraud, corruption, theft and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), pertaining to two police tenders issued in 2016 with a total value of over R54 million. The tenders were awarded to Brainwave Projects CC, t/a I-View Integrated Systems, who have also been indicted,” Seboka said.
According to an earlier statement by the investigating directorate, on December 21, 2016, the SAPS crime intelligence division embarked on an “emergency procurement of software tools or systems.
“It was intended to collect and monitor information from social media platforms on the instigators of the university students’ #FeesMustFall protests. Open sources reveal that the #FeesMustFall protests started in October 2015. By December 2016, it was far-fetched to claim a response to the protests as an ‘emergency’,” said investigating directorate spokesperson Seboka at the time.
She said the accused had purported to buy the RIPJAR software from a company that was not involved in software engineering, but was a security alarm and surveillance camera company.
The Star