Hawks nab Samwu members over lost millions

LAW enforcement agencies are believed to be close to unravelling the mystery behind the missing R136 million from the country’s biggest municipal union, Samwu.

Yesterday, the Hawks arrested the SA Municipal Workers Union’s former deputy general secretary and now head of organising, along with two other top officials. It is believed a third official will be taken into custody as soon as he is located.

The arrests follow months of investigations by the Hawks, which less than a month ago raided the union’s head office in Joburg and seized documents.

“I knew there was going to be an operation, and three people have been arrested,” said Hawks spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi.

The scandal over the missing millions has led to a split in Samwu, with many of its disgruntled members forming a new union.

The Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers Union of SA was launched last month by some of the 100 union members and leaders who were expelled from Samwu for allegedly exposing corruption in the union, as they alleged at the time.

The Star understands that the deputy general secretary, ousted at a Samwu congress in August, was at a meeting at a Holiday Inn in Boksburg when the Hawks swooped on him. The other officials, who occupied the positions of legal officer, finance administrator and logistics administrator, were arrested at Samwu’s offices.

Samwu said last night that it was deeply shocked at the large police contingent that disrupted their meeting.