weekly newspaper.
A massive battle between the country’s top police officers is boiling over. In the midst of this, cops are trying to tackle crime, some of which is furthered by their own colleagues, leaving ordinary people exceptionally vulnerable.
Crime Intelligence officers are critical: they are meant to form an impenetrable barrier between the law-abiding residents of South Africa and local and global crooks.
But what happens if these officers abuse their positions and, instead of seeing to it that criminals are caught, join their ranks?
Well, suspicions and accusations in this realm are playing out. Yet again.
South Africa’s Crime Intelligence head, Peter Jacobs, has been suspended – according to him unfairly – for roughly three months. His suspension may be lifted on Wednesday.
The controversial disciplinary hearing focused on suspended Crime Intelligence boss Peter Jacobs and five of his colleagues, which was meant to run from the beginning to the end of this week, has been put on ice pending a Labour Court decision.
This development points to a stalemate between Jacobs and national police commissioner Khehla Sitole, who is seen as having pushed ahead with the suspensions that led to the disciplinary hearing that has become the latest source of claims of potentially unlawful actions at the hands of cops.
The suspensions of Jacobs and his five colleagues relate to allegations of personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement irregularities involving the Secret Service account.
Six suspended Crime Intelligence officers, including its head Peter Jacobs, have been the subject of an internal disciplinary hearing this week, but allegations have now surfaced that those running it are not entitled to have access to classified documents crucial to the process and will br.
For almost three months SAPS Crime Intelligence (CI) head Peter Jacobs attempted to challenge a notice that he – along with five senior colleagues – was being suspended for suspected personal protective equipment (PPE) fraud from the Secret Service Account. Jacobs was handed a suspension notice on 30 November 2020.
The CI head wrote lengthy communications to national police commissioner Khehla Sitole challenging the decision and setting out that he was being targeted as a result of his clean-up of the unholy mess at Crime Intelligence and because he was investigating senior officers.
“Credible evidence was available that the Account was looted by a number of CFOs and or Divisional Commissioners and other Senior Crime Intelligence Officers,” said Jacobs in a 42-page searing document contextualising what he found in the division when he took the helm in March 2018.
Crime intelligence bosses lose bids to have suspensions overturned 09 January 2021 - 20:17 Crime intelligence boss Lt Gen Peter Jacobs and five other suspects of a PPE fraud investigation challenged their suspension by police commissioner General Kehla Sitole. Image: Phill Magakoe
National crime intelligence boss Lt-Gen Peter Jacobs and five other senior crime intelligence officers will have to foot their legal bills after they lost a high court bid to have their suspensions overturned.
Jacobs, Brig Albo Lombard, Col Isaac Walljee, Col Manogaran Gopal, Maj-Gen Maperemisa Lekalakala, and Col Bale Matamela were all suspended between December 8 and 10 after allegations by the inspector-general of Intelligence of abuse of the secret service account to fraudulently procure personal protective equipment last year.