Journalist Jacques Pauw to take action against Durban North cop

INVESTIGATIVE journalist and author of The President’s Keepers, Jacques Pauw, will be going to police watchdog Ipid to report Durban North policeman Colonel Reuben Govender for not following proper procedures and for attempting to intimidate him.

The police probe of Pauw and fellow investigative journalist and author Pieter-Louis Myburgh took another turn this week when Govender was removed from the case.

Pauw and Myburgh were summoned to the station but said they had no idea what the reasons were.

Myburgh wrote the book The Republic of Gupta and has probed and written about several alleged corrupt relationships involving state officials.

Pauw’s lawyer, Willem de Klerk, said yesterday that Pauw intended reporting Govender to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.

“I haven’t received any instructions on that matter as yet. Right now, we are just waiting for what the police have to say,” De Klerk said.

Pauw took to Facebook this week to reveal that Govender – who he described as “Roy Moodley’s pet cop in KZN” – had been taken off the case.

On Facebook, he wrote that although Govender did not reveal who the complainant in the matter was, he was certain it was Durban businessman Roy Moodley.

He described Govender as a “notorious cop” known to perform Moodley’s “dirty work”.

“He has been slammed in court judgments and is facing several lawsuits.

“He is notorious for arresting people without warrants and for bringing trumped-up charges against them,” Pauw said on Facebook.

A crime expert from the Institute for Security Studies, Johan Burger, said the manner in which Govender conducted the investigation was questionable and, as he did not follow proper procedure, Pauw had a leg to stand on.