Ramaphosa, Cele Seek Answers in R45m Bid to Defraud Saps Secret Fund
- President Cyril Ramaphosa has reportedly stepped in to obtain recently declassified documents linked to an alleged attempt to loot the SAPS Crime Intelligence of R45 million
- National Commissioner of Police Khehla Sitole has been requested to furnish this documentation
- This was prior to the ANC's elective conference at NASREC in 2017
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President Cyril Ramaphosa has reportedly moved to obtain declassified documents from National Commissioner of Police Khehla Sitole.
The documents relate to an alleged attempt to defraud the SA Police Service Crime Intelligence secret fund of R45 million.
This attempt had allegedly been made ahead of the ANC's elective conference at NASREC in 2017, which ultimately saw Ramaphosa emerging as the party's leader.
Source: UGC
News24 reports that Police Minister Bheki Cele had written to Sitole last week noting a judgment by the Pretoria High Court that communication from the Presidency had been received over the ordeal:
"In respect of the recent High Court judgment in the matter between Vuma [Lieutenant-General Francinah Vuma] and others v IPID [the Independent Police Investigative Directorate], I have been requested by the Honourable President to respond to certain issues in respect of the judgment."
The Minister says that he had not been briefed on the outcome and implications of the judgment for the SAPS.
Cele told Sitole that, due to the urgency and seriousness of the situation, he would need a full report on the matter, including the Commissioner's involvement and that of other top officials cited in the judgement.
The High Court had ended a three-year ordeal that saw the SAPS pitted against the IPID attempting to obtain documents relating to the situation.
Judge Norman Davis had pointed out possibly serious abuse of state resources by top law enforcement officials backing Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in the election race to head the ANC.
The situation had been successfully covered up under the guise of the documentation being classified as a matter of national security, the nature of which has never been clarified.
Cele, writing to Sitole on instructions from the Presidency, has thus far echoed the sentiment of SAPS officials involved.
But not it appears that the Minister is demanding a report within the course of the next 24 hours in addition to the details regarding the legal expenses involved, questioning who had ultimately approved the costs.
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that an affidavit revealed that the IPID's investigations had found that during protests in 2016, police crime intelligence paid I-View R33 million.
This had been for software used to watch social media sites and had been awarded without following procurement processes. The IPID is also examining an inflated deal for the purchase of a device used to intercept phone calls.
The SAPS had allegedly paid I-View R45 million for the cellphone grabber, which usually sells for no more than R10 million. The excess funding, according to the IPID, was then used to buy votes at the ANC National Conference.
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Source: Briefly News
