9 senior cops and 6 business owners arrested
Suspects face charges of corruption, theft, fraud, money laundering
FIFTEEN suspects, including eight policemen, a retired lieutenant-general and six citizens, allegedly linked to a police tender fraud scandal were arrested in a pre-dawn raid at their Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg homes yesterday.
The arrests came after an intensive three-year investigation by the Special Anti-Corruption Task Team, headed by Brigadier Tony Perumal.
The team was supported by the National Prosecuting Authority under the leadership of advocate Hermione Cronje. The citizens include business owners. They are facing charges of fraud, corruption, theft and money laundering in connection with a R56 million tender fraud related to the marking of police vehicles.
The suspects are: ¡ Retired Lieutenant-General Ramahlapi Johannes Mokwena, 60. He is the former Divisional Commissioner of Supply Chain Management at Pretoria head office. He was arrested in Rethabile, Pretoria.
• Brigadier James Ramanjalum, 55. The former Section Head of Procurement was arrested in Rooihuiskraal, Centurion. He is formerly from Durban.
• Brigadier Jabez Naidoo, 49. He is the Station Commander of Point police station and was arrested in Durban.
• Brigadier Lesetja David Mogotlane, 57. The Section Head for Mechanical Services was arrested in Soshanguwe.
• Colonel Thomas Dumisani Marima, 50. The Section Commander of Vehicles and Tactical Equipment.
• Lieutenant-Colonel Veeran Naipal, 47. He worked in vehicle support at Pretoria Central Garage.
• Lieutenant-Colonel Alpheus Nkosibanke Makhetha, 46. A technical expert in the vehicle fleet.
• Jacoba Magadela Havenga, 49. Chief provincial administration clerk for the new vehicle store in the Western Cape.
• Marcell Duan Marney, 33. Chief
provisioning clerk to Brigadier Ramanjalum.
• Krishna Chetty, 62, was arrested in Centurion.
• Kishene Chetty, 38, was also arrested in Centurion.
• Lorrette Joubert, 44. The owner of Vatika Trading was arrested in Mountain View, Pretoria.
• Maricha Joubert, 24, was also arrested in Mountain View, Pretoria.
• Kumarasen Prithviraj is the owner of Kgotho.
• Volan Prithviraj (son of Kumarasen). Both were arrested in Mountain View, Pretoria.
The arrest of another lieutenant-colonel is still pending, which would bring the number of SAPS members implicated in the fraud to 10.
According to a judgment delivered last month in the North Gauteng High Court, and reported on by a number of media houses, Lorrette Joubert and Kumarasen Prithviraj had to forfeit property and proceeds of the SAPS contract to the state, after the National Director of Public Prosecutions brought an application for the civil forfeiture of property in terms of Chapter 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
At the time, Judge AJ Barnard said in his judgment that Joubert and Kumarasen Prithviraj had suddenly emerged as a service provider for the branding of police vehicles “with no substantial footprint in the particular industry. A substantial national contract to the value of R50m was awarded to them”.
According to the judgment, it was with the help of “corrupt” police officers that Joubert and Prithviraj were awarded the contract.
Joubert is the sole director of Vatika and Gautools. Volan Prithviraj is listed as the sole director of Argan, while Kumarasen Prithviraj is the only member of Kgotho and Umbanati Trading and Projects.
Barnard’s judgment further stated that “neither had the infrastructure, personnel, market connections or skills to undertake the national tender”.
A few years ago, Mokwena and Ramanjalum were arrested on charges of corruption, fraud, forgery and uttering linked to an R86m tender to install blue lights, sirens and radio equipment in SAPS vehicles.
It was the same controversial 2016 “blue lights tender” that saw the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) arrest former acting police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane last year.
That case against Phahlane, Mokwena, Ramanjalum and co-accused former Gauteng police commissioner Deliwe de Lange; Gauteng deputy police commissioner Major-General Brigadier Nombhuruza Lettie Napo; and Major-General Ravichandran Pillay was meant to continue at the Johannesburg Commercial Crime Court in March this year.
IPID did not respond by the time of going to press, about the charges related to the blue light tender fraud.
Brigadier Jabez Naidoo was the SAPS former supply chain management head in Western Cape. He returned to the province last year.
Lieutenant-Colonel Veeran Naipal, who was an administrative clerk at Pietermaritzburg police station, was first promoted to captain in Pretoria and then within a short space of time to lieutenant-colonel. His quick climb up the ranks was also believed to be under the spotlight, a source said.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo confirmed that the arrest of a lieutenant-colonel was pending.
National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole yesterday praised the task team for the “zest and determination” they showed in the pursuance of this investigation.
“I have been kept abreast of this extensive and very complicated investigation since its inception,” he said.
“I am confident that the cases against the arrested suspects are water-tight,” Sitole added.
The suspects are expected to appear in courts yet to be determined this week.
Sitole added that the possibility of more arrests could not be ruled out.
“Corruption within the SAPS will neither be condoned nor tolerated,” he said.