Minister not playing ball, says McBride

Ipid head claims Nhleko supporting top cop Phahlane in corruption investigation

IPID executive director Robert McBride has laid bare in parliament a relationship between Police Minister Nathi Nhleko and acting police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane which could land them in hot water.

Appearing before the police portfolio committee for the first time since his return from suspension, McBride did not beat about the bush in detailing how Phahlane seemed to enjoy unwavering support from Nhleko, while he struggled to get him to read his reports.

“It is difficult to envisage that the minister will take our recommendations seriously,” he said.

“When we send our monthly reports, they get sent back to us.

“Since the investigation became public, the acting national commissioner has received a bravery award.

“The acting national commissioner has received awards, with the minister, from churches.

“The minister was here with the acting national commissioner, so it gives you a context of what is possible and what is not possible,” he said in response to a question about whether he had sent briefing notes about the investigation to President Jacob Zuma and the minister.

McBride, briefing the committee on the police watchdog’s investigation into allegations of corruption and wrongdoing against Phahlane, joked that he was sure “the minister would have loved to have been here with me”.

On a more serious note, he made it clear that the rift between him and Nhleko, who has tried to have him removed from his post on the basis that their relationship had broken down, ran deep.

He said he believed the arrests of private investigator Paul O’Sullivan and his assistant were an attempt to disrupt their investigation, contravened the sections of the Ipid Act which guarantee independence and were intimidation.

O’Sullivan was arrested on Monday, accused of impersonating an Ipid officer, shortly after his assistant, Sarah Jane Trent, was arrested on Friday.

McBride said Phahlane had falsely claimed that there had been a security breach when O’Sullivan, with Ipid investigators, had gone to the private estate where Phahlane lives.

Even if there had been, he said, Phahlane should have contacted protection services and not a police unit known for its torture tactics.

“It’s frightening it can carry on with impunity with political support,” McBride said.

The committee also heard that while Phahlane had told them he had provided proof of payment for the R80 000 sound system provided by an SAPS supplier, what he had actually provided was an e-mail in which he indicated that he had instructed his bankers to pay.

Ipid chief director of investigations Matthews Seseko said this still needed to be supported with bank statements, but they had evidence that the person listed as a payment reference was a member of the company that had supplied it.

He also raised questions about Nhleko’s role in the transfer of former Ipid acting head Israel Kgamanyane to a top job with a major-general rank at the Hawks, even though Ipid had not approved it.

Asked whether there were any regulatory problems with this transfer, McBride said a Constitutional Court judgment had outlined how the Hawks should be independent of the police.

“It is a transgression of that independence if the minister can offer jobs to people in the DPCI,” he said, adding that this came across as “if you do my bidding, I will reward you”.

McBride denied Phahlane’s allegations that O’Sullivan had been contracted to work on the case with Ipid, saying he was merely the complainant, providing information to them.

He said they had proof that Phahlane had misled parliament when he told it he had not been informed about the allegations against him.

“Unfortunately for Phahlane, we have transcripts and recordings of every interview done and at no point did he [O’Sullivan] identify as being with Ipid or as a police officer.”

The lead investigator in the case, Mandla Mahlangu, had a wealth of experience, and was a man of integrity.

“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell the claims of impersonation will stand up in court, because it simply didn’t happen,” McBride said.

Seseko told the committee that while it was not up to them to pronounce on Phahlane’s guilt, there was sufficient evidence to conclude that something did not add up.