Johannesburg - The commission of inquiry into state capture continued to hear explosive evidence yesterday, including confirmation that former Hawks boss Anwar Dramat was fired for demanding access to the police’s Nkandla investigation.
Retired KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Johan Booysen told the commission that Dramat had told him in Cape Town over coffee that he had been fired for asking for the Nkandla docket from the police’s head of detectives, Vinesh Munoo.
The probe related to the police’s investigation of the R248 million security upgrades to former president Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla compound.
“My conclusion is that they had to get rid of Dramat because he was looking at the Mdlulis of the day, he was backing Booysen in the Panday investigation and various other investigations,” he said.
The investigation into Durban businessman Thoshan Panday has been stalled for many years.
He and Colonel Navin Madhoe had apparently tried to bribe Booysen with R1.4m for him to stop his investigation into a fraudulent contract awarded to the one of the businessman’s companies during the 2010 World Cup.
Booysen told the commission that Dramat actively pursued investigations against former crime intelligence divisional head Richard Mdluli and he backed him and his investigations.
Commission chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo demanded to know from national police bosses why Madhoe’s matter has never by dealt with.
Justice Zondo said it appeared that power was being abused in regard to arrests and prosecutions of officers investigating corruption.
They were being suspended and transferred. This this appeared not to have been motivated by proper reasons, but may have been connected with corruption or harassing people who were doing their job, according to Justice Zondo.
He said with regard to Madhoe, there was evidence that suggested he may have been guilty of corruption and bribery, or attempted bribery and it appears not much had been done over many years about the allegations against him, including internal disciplinary action.
Booysen said: “Replace him (Dramat) with someone as pliant like (controversial ex-Hawks boss Mthandazo) Ntlemeza and all of a sudden all those investigations basically became dormant again.”
He said Ntlemeza had been hand-picked by former police minister Nathi Nhleko, despite a High Court finding that he was dishonest and lacking integrity.
“He did not demonstrate the ability to lead an important institution like the Hawks,” Booysen said of Ntlemeza.
He added that this was the only inescapable conclusion he could come up with.
He said Ntlemeza had interfered in a number of investigations, including meeting with former KwaZulu- Natal police provincial commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni, Colonel Kobus Roelofse’s probe into Mdluli. Booysen said after personally reporting corruption to him and he did not do anything about it.
He said Ntlemeza protected particular interests.
The majority of senior officers Ntlemeza appointed were from the Eastern Cape, where he is originally from, and Limpopo, where he had been provincial commissioner.