Whistle-blower Patricia Mashale launches defamation lawsuit against Crime Intelligence head

Whistle-blower and former SAPS employee Patricia Mashale said on Tuesday her lawyers are busy with a defamation lawsuit against Crime Intelligence head, Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo.

Testifying before the Ad Hoc Committee, Mashale disputed the evidence previously given by Khumalo that her appointment at the SAPS was irregular, and that she had failed to disclose her dismissal from the Department of Health.

She told the MPs that she was employed in 2007 as an administration clerk until 2022.

Mashale said she enrolled as a student nurse at Free State School of Nursing in January 1998, and suffered an acute appendix in May that year, a move that led to her being booked off for six weeks.

“I submitted my medical certificate to the college. In June 1998, I realised that nursing was not my passion and decided not to proceed with the bursary.”

She testified that she had submitted her “termination application” to the nursing college and left the public service only to apply in 2007, when posts were advertised at the SAPS.

“I went through all the stages of recruitment. I was appointed on August 1, 2007.”

Mashale also said shortly after working at the SAPS, there was rumour that she was appointed because she was in a romantic relationship with former deputy provincial commissioner Major-General Eric Nkuna after she was asked to assist in his office when his secretary was on leave.

However, she confirmed that she had been charged departmentally on allegations that she failed to disclose her dismissal by the Department of Health.

“The Department of Health failed to capture the documents that I submitted to terminate the enrolment (as a student nurse),” she said, adding that she had even filed defamation case on the matter against a certain Moloi and was granted R50,000 in damages.

Mashale said Khumalo, as the head of Crime Intelligence, could have checked her employment file for her employment history.

“In the departmental trial, I was charged in 2008, I was acquitted. He (Khumalo) would have been able to see the documents I submitted. I filed for defamation, he would have seen a court order and a letter by (National Commissioner Fannie) Masemola, who was head of support, to say this matter was finalised because it was not my fault but the fault of the Department of Health.

“My lawyers told me they are also busy with a defamation against General Khumalo relating to this matter,” she said.

Mashale’s testimony got off to a bumpy start amid complaints by MPs that they were not provided copies of an annexure to her affidavit.

Evidence Leader Maria Mokhoaetsi confirmed that Mashale made a statement to several annexures, which have not been printed.

EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys complained that there was no synergy between the parliamentary legal term and the committee secretariat regarding public submissions.

“It has been a problem since we started the public submissions. I ask you intervene and be able to give guidance,” said Mathys to committee Chairperson Soviet Lekganyane.

“We have failures on all sides. It’s a mess,” she added.

Despite the absence of copies of the annexure, Mashale was allowed to give her evidence while copies were arranged for the MPs.

It emerged moments later that 21 documents were sent to the MPs via their Whatsapp group that were not even labelled.

“This is embarrassing. We are not doing justice to her testimony,” said Mathys.

Patriotic Alliance MP Ashley Sauls said the committee’s technical team should put the documents together based on what Mashale presented.

“It is not the witness’ fault,” he said.

Lekganyane agreed with the MPs, saying “really it is annoying for the members. They have been raising it and we don’t seem to be coming right”.

Earlier, the committee had to delay the testimony by former State Security Agency (SSA) official Xolile Mashukuca, when it emerged that he was not granted permission to testify by the SSA director-general.

Mashukuca confirmed that he did not ask for permission and was unaware that he needed to do so.

“I am not aware of a provision of such a nature. I also operate in other capacities since I left that organisation,” he said, adding that his evidence did not arise from SSA activities.

As the Ad Hoc Committee was waiting for correspondence from SSA, Mashukuca should not be stopped from testifying as other former intelligence officers had done so and made disclaimers on documents they referred to.

“We will confine to evidence you want to share with the committee,” said Lekganyane.

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