Hawks head under fire in fraud case
Interference in R49m Sassa probe alleged
ACASE of defeating the ends of justice has been opened with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) against Hawks national head Lieutenant-General Yolisa Matakata for her alleged interference in an ongoing fraud investigation into a misuse of funds at the South African Social Services Agency (Sassa).
Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini and Eastern Cape social development MEC Nancy Sihlwayi are said to be implicated in the investigation as the alleged mismanagement of the funds happened under their watch.
The case against Matakata comes after the fraud case docket was allegedly confiscated from Eastern Cape Hawks officer Captain Luphumlo Lwana – an action described by police union Popcru as a political move to shield the two ANC heavyweights.
The national Hawks office has, however, denied the docket was confiscated.
Lwana, who has made a name for himself for going after powerful figures including politicians, has recently gained himself detractors from both government and the head office of the Hawks in Pretoria.
The case relates to an alleged misuse of R49-million in funding meant for disaster victims and disadvantaged people of the Eastern Cape.
The Saturday Dispatch understands that an initial instalment of R15-million was used up within a month of receipt on projects outside the Eastern Cape – allegedly on instructions of Dlamini. A further R34-million was used in the Eastern Cape but tenders were allegedly fraudulently awarded to undeserving companies. The money was believed to have been spent during the 2014-15 financial year.
Ipid national spokesman Moses Dlamini said: “We can confirm that a case of defeating the ends of justice has been opened and the investigation is currently underway.”
The case was opened by Lwana at Fleet Street police station in East London in October 2017.
Hawks national spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said: “The investigations into the Sassa allegations are ongoing. The docket was with the prosecutors in East London and they have given our investigators further instructions as part of the probe [recently in December 2017].”
“We also want to put it on record that the so-called confiscation of the Sassa docket allegedly from Captain Lwana is inaccurate since the docket has been investigated from head office since 2016.”
Asked to confirm the figures in the case, Mulaudzi said: “It is against the DPCI policy to divulge the names of suspects or complainants and therefore we want to distance ourselves from the names, [Dlamini and Sihlwayi] that they are being investigated by the Hawks.”
To the Popcru allegations, Mulaudzi said: “Our offices are open if they want to engage us.
“We are certain it will assist us and Popcru to comment from an official and well-versed platform.”
In a telephone interview with the Saturday Dispatch yesterday, Sihlwayi’s spokesman Mzukisi Solani distanced the department and his boss from the investigation and Sassa.
“The provincial department of social development is not involved in the running of Sassa and its projects because Sassa is a stand-alone agency with its own autonomy.”
Popcru provincial chairman Loyiso Mdingi said the union would write to Police Minister Fikile Mbalula about the incident.
“They are trying to protect the two politicians. We are also aware of a meeting that took place in August 2017 between ANC leaders and the general in Pretoria shortly before Lwana’s dockets were confiscated.”
Sassa provincial spokeswoman Sandy Godlwana said: “Please note that we are not aware of an investigation of a case of fraud opened against Sassa. However, as the region we have referred the enquiry to our national Sassa office for a response and will respond in due course.”— malibongwed@