Tshwarelo Hunter Mogakane
Pretoria - An ongoing jostle for power among the police in Mpumalanga has resulted in difficulty for communication officials to report on crimes said to implicate top politicians and senior police officers who allegedly work in cahoots with illegal mining syndicates.
This week the Pretoria News embarked on a fact-finding mission to uncover the truth behind a local online news report that suggested provincial police boss Lieutenant-General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela was at the centre of an internal rift among officers in the province.
The article plays a pivotal role in the developments, after provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala shared its link on the official police media communication WhatsApp account at the weekend while on leave.
It was the first time that an article was shared by the managers of the police media group, who normally only share media statements and court updates.
The article stated that Manamela was being targeted since her appointment in November last year, after she launched a clean-up campaign to rid the provincial police of rotten apples.
Anonymous police officers were quoted saying six of their colleagues were arrested, together with a prosecutor, for allegedly helping cover up illegal mining activities involving the theft of coal from disused mines in Emalahleni (formerly Witbank).
The activities are said to have enriched politicians and senior police officers, who allegedly own townhouses in leafy suburbs across the country.
Brigadier Mohlala was directly quoted confirming the arrest of a station commander caught red-handed collecting a R500 000 bribe from an illegal mining syndicate in the Emalahleni area in July.
But when the Pretoria News sent questions to Mohlala asking for details about the illegal mining cases involving police officers, he referred the questions to his assistant, Colonel Donald Mdhluli.
Questions put to Mdhluli included: how many police officers have been arrested in connection with illegal mining in Mpumalanga this year; when and where were these officers arrested; what charges are they facing; have they applied for bail; when will they appear in court; and their ranks and names.
Mdhluli did not deny the arrests, but said such cases were handled by the Hawks, especially when police officers are implicated. “These are organised-crime cases. The Hawks are best suited to respond to your enquiry.”
Contacted for comment, Hawks provincial spokesperson Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said he was surprised.
“You have all my media statements. Have you ever seen where I [stated] a police officer was arrested by the Hawks for illegal mining? You refer me to the article which is not from our office … let the article not mislead you.”
The captain sent Mdhluli questions regarding the referral of the media questions to the Hawks. She shared the text of her questions with the Pretoria News, in which she strongly denied to Mdhluli that the Hawks had arrested any police officers or a prosecutor for illegal mining.
Asked to clarify the police’ stance on the matter, Mdhluli went silent.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was called by Pretoria News to verify the arrests or have them denied, and surprisingly, provincial spokesperson Monica Nyuswa could neither confirm nor deny the claims, despite being repeatedly asked to do so between Sunday and Monday. She could only correct information about the alleged arrest of the prosecutor.
“There is no prosecutor who has been arrested, but a Department of Justice manager was arrested in July. He faces charges of commencing with a listed activity without environmental authorisation in terms of the National Environmental Management Act,” she said.
Nyuswa said the official also faced charges relating to “the removal and mining of mineral resources without mining rights and/or an approved environmental management plan or permit”.
She said the official was out on R10 000 bail, and will be back in the Emalahleni Magistrate’s Court on September 30.
Asked to confirm whether this official’s arrest was connected to the six police officers mentioned in the media article forwarded to her, Nyuswa only said: “The official joined other suspects who had already appeared in court.”
However, Nyuswa repeatedly declined to confirm whether these suspects were police officers, including a station commander. She only sent a list of 16 people, all released on bail.
It is unclear what caused the communication wrangle within the law enforcement offices in Mpumalanga.
Brigadier Mohlala’s participation in the online article and the fact that he shared it on their official communication account suggest a commotion erupted in the law enforcement space in the province.
This is a developing story.
Pretoria News