Ex-Hawks boss faces new charges

ACTION: DEFEATING THE ENDS OF JUSTICE CHARGE LAID

Joburg mayor concerned about outstanding cases dating back to 2012.

A criminal case of defeating the ends of justice has been opened against former Hawks boss Lieutenant-General Berning Ntlemeza by Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba, his spokesperson Tony Taverna-Turisan confirmed yesterday.

Ntlemeza was dismissed from his post yesterday by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

In his complaint, Mashaba noted the city’s Group Forensic and Investigation Services (GFIS) had learnt Ntlemeza had called a meeting on March 27 at the Germiston SAPS Hall with all Gauteng Hawks members.

There, Mashaba alleged, Ntlemeza said he was concerned cases registered by the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) were receiving preferential treatment; some members were visiting the offices of the GFIS – run by former Gauteng Hawks boss Shadrack Sibiya – and Ntlemeza warned them to stop doing so, or face the consequences.

Ntlemeza is alleged to have said those investigating local municipality cases would be monitored.

He also apparently said they had to report each meeting they had with the CoJ to the acting provincial head of Gauteng, Brigadier Sekelema Lewele.

Mashaba claimed further Ntlemeza would be introducing a “clandestine task team” to monitor and report directly to him on all cases related to the city.

Ntlemeza’s spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Netshiunda yesterday told The Citizen Mashaba must concentrate on running his municipality and leave the investigations to the Hawks. “He is talking nonsense. This year, even last year, we arrested people for corruption and the mayor kept quiet. Why?” asked Netshiunda.

Mashaba met with Independent Police Investigative Directorate chief Robert McBride on Monday to request an investigation into “allegations of abuse of power and defeating the ends of justice”, Mashaba said in a statement on Tuesday.

A lot of this may be moot now with the North Gauteng High Court yesterday ordering Ntlemeza must vacate his post immediately. However, Mashaba remained concerned over cases dating back to 2012 which were costing the city millions of rands. –

Rights groups the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) and Freedom Under Law (FUL) have appealed to Police Minister Fikile Mbalula to ensure that Hawks’ head Berning Ntlemeza immediately vacates his office.

This is after the organisations obtained an urgent court order enforcing a March 17 ruling by a full bench of the high court setting aside former police minister Nathi Nhleko’s decision to appoint Lieutenant-General Ntlemeza to the top post.

The court yesterday dismissed Ntlemeza’s application for leave to appeal against their ruling and granted an enforcement order that their ruling would not be suspended and would continue to be enforceable whether or not there was a petition to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) for leave to appeal or any other appeal process.

FUL’s executive officer, Nicole Fritz, said they were delighted with the ruling as Ntlemeza could potentially have remained in office for years with every executive decision he took being tainted because of his unlawful appointment.

Ntlemeza stayed on in his post pending the outcome of his appeal bid and now has 10 days to lodge a petition for leave to appeal with the SCA, which would ordinarily have suspended the court order once again.

Nhleko initially also applied for leave to appeal, but Mbalula withdrew the application when he took office.

Ntlemeza argued that the March ruling harmed his “impeccable reputation” and that he deserved a second chance to clear his name as he was in the twilight of his career and needed certainty about his future.

The rights groups argued that Ntlemeza could hardly pride himself on an unblemished reputation in light of a high court judge’s findings that he was dishonest and lacked integrity.

“We have a man at the head of a critically important institution who should not be there, not only because the process was flawed, but because he is dishonest.

“From the day of his appointment his decisions were unlawful. The court has the authority to stem the tide of unlawful decisions now,” counsel for HSF Carol Steynberg SC argued.

The full bench found there was direct evidence that Ntlemeza lacked the requisite honesty, integrity and conscientious to occupy any position in public office, let alone one as important as the head of the Hawks but that Nhleko had ignored it.

The organisations took Nhleko to court after he appointed Ntlemeza despite Judge Elias Matojane’s findings that Ntlemeza lacked integrity and had lied under oath in defending his decision to suspend Gauteng Hawks head Shadrack Sibiya for his alleged involvement in the illegal rendition of a group of Zimbabweans in 2010. –