Ex Crime Intelligence Boss Richard Mdluli's Criminal Trial Won't Be Funded by SAPS

• Former top cop Richard Mdluli and his two co-accused will learn the trial date in the corruption case against them next month
• Mduli, and former high-ranking policemen Heine Barnard and Solomon Lazarus, face corruption, fraud and theft charges
• The three men allegedly looted a CI slush fund between 2008 and 2012, making off with a pretty penny for their ill-gotten efforts

TSHWANE - The Investigating Directorate (ID) has reiterated that the South African Police Service (SAPS) will not fund the criminal trial of disgraced former top cop Richard Mdluli and his co-accused.

The ex-Crime Intelligence boss and his two former high-ranking police colleagues, Heine Barnard and Solomon Lazarus appeared in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday.

Barnard and Lazarus previously served as the supply chain manager and the chief financial officer (CFO), respectively. The trio reportedly looted Crime Intelligence's (CI) secret slush fund, eNCA reported.

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"The court postponed the case to 22 February, where a trial date for the three men will be decided. Their former employer, SAPS, has rejected undertaking legal funding in the case against them," said the ID's spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka.

Financial corruption rife

Mdluli and his co-accused face corruption, fraud and theft charges for allegedly benefitting illegally from the slush fund in which, among others, Lazarus procured vehicles for the CI from a service provider linked to SAPS.

The crimes for which they've come under the microscope occurred between 2008 and 2012, with the resulting payments from the gratification they received also involving private Asian trips, the private use of witness protection houses, and the renting out of a private residence belonging to Mdluli.

News24 reported that a warrant of arrest was activated against Mdluli, who failed to appear in court several times, despite being in custody.

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Mdluli was sentenced to five years in prison for the kidnapping and assault of Oupa Ramogibe in 1999. Meanwhile, Lazarus was slapped with a 10-year term after he benefitted over R200 000 from Atlantis Motors for the sale of four vehicles.

Just how corrupt is law enforcement in your province?

Elsewhere, Briefly News previously reported that a shocking report by Corruption Watch unveiled the number of reported cases of police corruption in each province.

Gauteng was far and away the province with the most police corruption, accounting for more than half of the national total. KwaZulu-Natal ranked second with 10.8 per cent of national cases of police corruption.

Next on the list was the Western Cape with 8.3 per cent, followed by the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga tied with 4.5 per cent apiece. The Free State boasted 3.8 per cent, the North West 3.2 per cent and the Northern Cape 1.6 per cent of the national cases.

Source: Briefly News