More bad news for suspended top cop
MPs want board of inquiry against her and provincial commissioners
PARLIAMENT’S police committee recommended boards of inquiry be held against the relevant provincial police commissioners who ventured into politics by backing their boss Riah Phiyega as she was facing a presidential decision on disciplinary steps against her.
This is one of the findings of the unprecedented Rule 201 inquiry into provincial police commissioners’ public backing of the national police commissioner on August 1.
The controversial statement came a day after Phiyega told President Jacob Zuma why she should not be facing a board of inquiry for misleading the commission of inquiry into the August 2012 police killing of 34 Marikana miners and the death of 10 people in the preceding week.
Phiyega was subsequently suspended in the middle of last month while she was briefing the police committee – and must now face a board of inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
But yesterday,
Phiyega received another double whammy. First, MPs agreed the suspended national police commissioner should face another board of inquiry over her role in the discussions at Magoebaskloof in mid-July for actively encouraging the provincial police commissioners to respond.
Then Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko announced the outcomes of the reference group he established: Phiyega had prejudiced the police service, perjured herself and brought the police into disrepute through her actions over the shuffling of several senior police officials, and related court actions.
Meanwhile, the MPs’ Rule 201 report also recommended that Phiyega’s spokesman Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale should also face such an inquiry. The report described his conduct before MPs as obstructive and unco-operative.
The report by the police committee finds the provincial commissioners were “not truthful” to MPs when they appeared before the committee in August over the matter. At that meeting, the generals apologised to the country, the president and MPs for their actions.
However, the retraction of their controversial statement, as instructed by MPs, did not happen. Instead, at another meeting between police top brass and MPs, some of the police stood by the apology while others aligned themselves with the second statement, which intimated that the parliamentarians did not understand the whole picture.
The Rule 201 report sharply criticised this. It also points out that the provincial police commissioners’ August 1 statement violated an earlier one which said the police would not comment on matters arising from the Marikana commission of inquiry report until processes were competed.
Yesterday’s meeting was postponed until the afternoon to wrap up the committee business after members of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union entered the meeting venue, singing.
Moved from the Good Hope Chambers to a boardroom of the State Security Ministry at 120 Plein Street, the committee concluded its work.
The committee report must now go to the National Assembly for adoption, before it is sent to Nhleko, who will decide whether to take action.