Further victimisation of Solidarity member prior to commencement of controversial crime intelligence case
Trade union Solidarity today expressed its dismay over the South African Police Service's (SAPS) investigation against Col. Kobus Roos a few days before his case is due to be heard by the Labour Court in Johannesburg. Roos is being investigated by the SAPS for allegedly leaking confidential documents. On Monday, Solidarity will be tackling the SAPS in the Labour Court in an unfair labour practice case on behalf of Roos who for years has been trying unsuccessfully to expose corruption in the SAPS. This has led to Roos being harassed, victimised and moved to a position where he has no work to do.
Johan Kruger, Solidarity spokesperson, argues that the SAPS's investigation of Roos at this stage, so soon before the start of the case, is nothing but bullying tactics. ‘The SAPS's actions are obviously intended to further victimise Roos before the case starts. It is very significant that Roos is being investigated now of all times while the media had already reported in July 2013 that they had been in possession of a file containing secret reports and official documents on the pilfering of a secret police fund, as well as containing information on Roos's urgent attempts to report the pilfering to his superiors,' Kruger says. According to Kruger, the information Roos had supposedly leaked, is freely available on the internet and he had nothing to do with the fact that it had ended up there.
Some of the shocking allegations contained in the file include the allegation that agents who had been befriended with high level police officials had allegedly been paid more than R8 million in claims and rewards; that false claims had been filed; and that nearly 250 posts had been filed by friends and family members of top police officials. Roos will testify about investigations he had been involved with and the corruption exposed by those investigations when the case resumes on Monday. A former member of the then Scorpions; two members of the Hawks and several SAPS members have been subpoenaed to testify in the controversial case.
Col. Roos, who has worked for the SAPS for the past 26 years, is currently stationed at the Inspection and Evaluation Division of the Crime Intelligence Unit. This division has never been operational and is currently closed. Roos was moved to this division by Lt-Gen Richard Mdluli, suspended head of the Crime Intelligence Unit, after he had made a protected disclosure in which allegations and proof of corruption in this unit were brought to light. Roos had previously acted as head of the Internal Audit Division of the Crime Intelligence Unit and was, among other things, responsible for carrying out audits of the so-called secret services account. Mdluli had appointed Roos, among other things, to investigate this account but later shut down the investigation and moved Roos to his current post.
Solidarity is requesting that Roos be reinstated in his previous position in the Internal Audit Division as he has virtually no work to do in his current post and is subjected to unbearable working conditions.
Statement issued by Johan Kruger, Solidarity spokesperson, February 6 2014
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