The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has come out guns blazing to defend the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption’s (IDAC) decision to provisionally withdraw the multi-million-rand blue lights corruption case against former acting police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane, after activists branded the prosecuting authority incompetent.
IDAC on Sunday confirmed it had provisionally withdrawn the case against Phahlane and his co-accused, saying Acting Investigating Director Adv Ntuthuzelo Vanara wanted to peruse certain aspects of the case before re-enrolling it.
The matter had already been subjected to the NPA’s internal Review Panel and was found to have been properly authorised and falling within IDAC’s mandate, IDAC spokesperson Henry Mamothame said.
But the move has triggered a fierce backlash, with the Activists and Citizens Forum accusing IDAC of being “a law unto themselves” whose mission was “just to destroy the lives of innocent people.”
The NPA says the criticism is misplaced and shows a misunderstanding of how prosecutorial checks and balances work.
NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said IDAC, like all DPP offices in the provinces, is an independent body that makes independent decisions, and that the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) has the legal power to review any decision to charge.
“IDAC is an independent body that makes independent decisions. It’s the same as the DPPs in all provinces. With the Masemola case, a decision was made to charge, he was charged but then there were discrepancies that were reported,” Kganyago said.
He explained that the law empowers the NDPP to review prosecutions, even when he was not the one who initially decided to charge.
“The checks and balances of the law says the NDPP can review. Remember he is not the one who made the decision to charge. But the law says he can review those matters. To show the competency of the NPA he decided to review the Masemola matter and he set up a review panel that will look at the decisions that led to him being charged,” Kganyago said.
He said the panel, made up of NPA officials, considers representations and makes a recommendation to the NDPP.
“When people make representations to the NDPP he can go through that panel. And this panel is made up of officials of the NPA. Based on that a report is then taken to the NDPP and based on that he makes a decision to withdraw the charges,” he said.
Far from showing incompetence, Kganyago argued, the review mechanism proves the system is working.
“So the machinery is working very well. We need to review cases when there is a need without fear that people will think we are incompetent. The law allows for that and it doesn’t only happen when it’s Masemola. It happens on a daily basis. It’s part of the law,” he said.
On Phahlane specifically, Kganyago said the provisional withdrawal was tactical.
“In the instance of the former national commissioner, it’s a tactical issue by IDAC. To say that they are still doing other things so in the meantime they withdraw the matter so that they can do further investigations. And it doesn’t mean that the people suspected have not done anything wrong. If new information comes up we can re-enroll it,” he said.
“A general message I’m sending is that there is competence within the NPA itself, that we are able to do what the law expects us to do and we do what went wrong to go right.”
Phahlane and 11 co-accused were facing charges of corruption, fraud, theft and money laundering linked to a 2016 SAPS contract to supply emergency warning equipment worth over R191 million.
Only R65 million was paid to the service provider, Instrumentation for Traffic Law Enforcement (Pty) Ltd, while a further R22 million payment was blocked at an advanced stage of IDAC’s investigation.
His co-accused include former Deputy National Commissioner for Human Resources Management Lt-Gen Bonang Mgwenya; former Gauteng Commissioner Deliwe de Lange; Gauteng Deputy Commissioner Nombhuruza Lettie Napo; retired Divisional Commissioner Lt-Gen Ramahlapi Johannes Mokwena; retired Maj-Gen Ravichandran Pillay; Col Thomas Dumas Marima and Sgt Maetapese Joseph Mulaiwa.
Civilians Judy Rose, Samantha Andrews and Vimpie Manthata, owner of Instrumentation for Traffic Law Enforcement, are also charged. Their previous bid to have the matter struck off the roll was dismissed.
But activists are not buying the NPA’s explanation.
Activists and Citizens Forum spokesperson Dennis Bloem said the withdrawal was “long overdue” and that the damage to Phahlane and his family was unforgivable.
“Nothing can replace the unforgivable damage that IDAC has caused to Commissioner Khomotso Phahlane and his family. This is another case where IDAC was a law unto themselves. Their mission was just to destroy the lives of innocent people. From the word go anyone could see that these charges were bound to collapse in court,” Bloem said.
The forum wants the charges completely withdrawn, not provisionally withdrawn, accusing IDAC of prolonging Phahlane’s pain despite failing to properly investigate the case since 2016.
“Former National Police General Khomotso Phahlane was subjected to vicious harassment by a heartless rogue group that plotted his removal from his position as Acting National Commissioner,” Bloem claimed, citing testimony by Cedrick Nkabinde, chief of staff to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, before the parliamentary ad-hoc committee that a rogue group under Paul O’Sullivan allegedly plotted the charges.
“We are calling upon law enforcement agencies to arrest and charge all those who made Commissioner Phahlane and his family miserable. We believe Commissioner Phahlane deserves justice.”
IDAC insists the case is not dead, only paused for further perusal before re-enrollment.
