Police waste R17 million on political witch hunts

31 October 2016

The Department of Police has spent more than R17 million on political witch hunts targeting individuals who have fallen out of favour with Jacob Zuma or his acolytes. This speaks directly to the politicisation of our law enforcement agencies and the resultant perversion of our criminal justice system.

This shamefully wasteful spending was revealed in a reply to a DA parliamentary question, which shows that the following amounts were spent on civil litigation and internal disciplinary proceedings against the following individuals:

- R3.3 million on Johan Booysen, suspended KwaZulu-Natal Hawks commander; 

- R6.7 million on Robert McBride, director of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID);

- Almost R6.4 million on Shadrack Sibiya, former Gauteng Hawks head; and

- R829 000 on Anwa Dramat, former national head of the Hawks.

In each case, the courts found there was no case against these individuals.

The State has lost more than five times in trying to get rid of Booysen on baseless claims.  

In September this year, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko, acted outside his authority when he unilaterally suspended Robert McBride, without any due consultation with Parliament.

In January 2014 the North Gauteng High Court slated the illegitimately installed Berning Ntlemeza citing his suspension of Sibiya, then Gauteng Hawks boss, as unlawful, invalid and unconstitutional.

Both the North Gauteng High Court and the Constitutional Court declared that the Police Minister’s decision to suspend Dramat was “unlawful”, “invalid” and must be “set aside”. 

With each day it becomes more and more apparent that the Hawks, under the compromised Berning Ntlemeza and at the behest of Nhleko, is being used to settle political scores and to intimidate those who would speak truth to corruption among those in power.

The money spent on frivolous litigation should rather be spent on improving the performance of the SAPS through better equipping our hard-working officers or providing better training. These amounts wasted on the witch hunts could have been used to appoint 118 constables or 93 sergeants or 111 detectives for a year.

That these actions are costing taxpayers millions should see both Ntlemeza and Nhleko removed from office. These politically motivated witch hunts continue to compromise the integrity of South Africa's institutions, and it is time for accountability. The DA will continue to push that action be taken to hold those responsible for perverting justice to be held accountable for their misconduct.

Issued by Zakhele Mbhele, DA Shadow Minister of Police, 31 October 2016