Mkhwebane challenged over report
Bid to interdict protector’s ‘damning’ release
THE Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) has given Public Protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane until the end of business today to file court papers if she intends to oppose their urgent application.
This relates to an urgent application submitted to the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday in which senior Ipid officials, including former executive director Robert McBride, are challenging a damning report released by Mkhwebane last month.
Matthews Sesoko, Ipid national head of investigation, filed papers on behalf of his client and McBride asking the court to interdict Mkhwebane’s report on alleged procurement irregularities and unlawful appointments at the organisation.
In her report – which followed a complaint lodged by Ipid employee Cedrick Mthokozisi in June last year – Mkhwebane found that the directorate unlawfully appointed Theresa Botha as a deputy director, saying the unit had changed and manipulated the requirements of the post in order to suit Botha.
“As a result, the complainant and other qualifying candidates were disadvantaged and prejudiced by this maladministration and nepotism,” Mkhwebane said.
She also found that Ipid had improperly followed procurement processes when it appointed Fidelity Security Services to provide the services of an investigative analyst for the interpretation of cellular and other data in criminal investigations.
She ordered that remedial action be implemented by October 28.
However, Sesoko argued that Ipid supply chain management (SCM) processes permitted Ipid to procure goods and services without a competitive bid “if it is impractical to do so”, saying the SCM rules state that among other things, Ipid “may dispense with the need for competitive bids in order to avoid dangerous or risky situation or misery”.
According to Sesoko, Mkhwebane’s report concluded that the threats “were not sufficient” to warrant emergency procurement.
But Sesoko told the court that anonymous threats were made against Ipid employees.
“The messages threatened the lives of Ipid employees and witnesses who were investigating the then police commissioner (Khomotso Phahlane).
“The executive director of Ipid was fully justified when authorising emergency procurement in order to investigate the source of the threats in terms of Treasury Regulations and clause of the SCM policy,” Sesoko said.
He also denied allegations that the appointment of Botha was unlawful.
Meanwhile, Mkhwebane’s spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, said Mkhwebane was yet to decide on the judicial review application and whether she would defend it or not.