The board of inquiry into the fitness of suspended national police commissioner Riah Phiyega has recommended that she be permanently removed from her position due to her reckless management and poor understanding of best policing practices, the Sunday Times reported on Friday.
The board of inquiry headed by Judge Neels Claassen and assisted by advocates Bernard Khuzwayo and Anusha Rawjee was established to investigate allegations of misconduct and/or the fitness of Phiyega to hold office on the basis of the Farlam commission of inquiry into her actions and the actions of the police during the fatal shooting of 34 platinum mine-workers at Marikana.
The board has handed its report to President Jacob Zuma who has asked Phiyega to make additional written representations to assist him in reaching a decision on the recommendations of the board of inquiry into her fitness to hold office. Phiyega’s lawyers have indicated that they intend to take the board’s findings to court for a review.
The Sunday Times, which obtained a leaked copy of the report, reported that the board found that Phiyega was out of her depth and that if she had paid attention to details, the Marikana tragedy could have been avoided. She lacked experience in policing and was therefore "unfit" to hold her position, the board of inquiry found. It also criticised Phiyega for allowing police to use R5 automatic rifles on the day. This was "grossly negligent".
In a damning finding the board’s report concluded that Phiyega did not uphold her constitutional duty to keep the citizens of SA safe.
The board has submitted a copy of its report to Phiyega and will also submit it to Parliament. One of its terms of reference of the inquiry included an investigation into whether Phiyega, together with other senior police officers, misled the Farlam commission by hiding the fact that they had authorised the "tactical option" during a management meeting a day before the shootings.
Claassen found that Phiyega had not misled the commission.
Presidential spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga said in a statement that Zuma was still considering the report.
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