The police are relentlessly pursuing those implicated in state capture, with more than 30 suspects already arrested, Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya, head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), says.
More than 2,000 statements had been obtained to date, with three criminals having been convicted and sentenced for state capture crimes, Lebeya said.
With police minister Senzo Mchunu, he was briefing the media in Soweto on Thursday on the 15-year sentence imposed on former Passenger Rail Agency SA (Prasa) chief engineer Daniel Mtimkhulu this week.
Lebeya said because the state capture commission recommendations were put before the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), most state capture investigations were done by the NPA’s Investigative Directorate (ID). Regarding the investigations by the Hawks and ID, the number of those being pursued was “very high”, he said.
“The matters are proceeding [before the courts]. There are other investigations that are continuing. [We are] tightening loose ends,” the Hawks boss said.
Lebeya said the sentence imposed on Mtimkhulu would serve as a deterrent to would-be fraudsters.
Mtimkulu appeared in the Johannesburg specialised commercial crime court on Tuesday for sentencing after his conviction on three counts of fraud in 2022. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for falsifying his qualifications and submitting a fake employment offer from a German company to bump up his salary.
Mtimkulu claimed he had a National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and a BTech Degree in Engineering (Maintenance) from the Vaal University of Technology‚ a degree in Mechanical and Maintenance Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand‚ a Master’s in Engineering as well as a Doctorate in Engineering Management.
In March, BusinessLIVE reported the Asset Forfeiture Unit had obtained an order to seize more than R5.5m from Mtimkulu’s properties in Johannesburg, Langebaan and Cape Town to pay Prasa back for the fraudulently obtained salary hike.
Meanwhile, Mchunu said 1,000 detectives would be hired in this financial year in an effort to plug the hole as the country had a shortage of nearly 9,000 detectives, while 50 left the public service for the private sector monthly where they became investigators, among other roles.
In a response to parliamentary questions by Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana, Mchunu said the total number of detectives employed in the police stood at 22,413, which represented a shortage of 8,594 countrywide.
KwaZulu-Natal had the highest shortage of detectives at 1,629, with the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape accounting for 1,555 and 1,465, respectively.
The three provinces, with Gauteng — SA’s economic and financial heartland — are grappling with incidents of extortion that has become a political hot potato. There are allegations some rogue cops are behind the spate of kidnappings of businesspeople, hijackings and extortions.
In custody
Mchunu said there were corrupt officers within the SAPS system, “even though we don’t want them, even though they tarnish our image”. He said the government would not allow the police to dabble in criminal activity.
Acting national commissioner Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili said 2,118 police officials had been convicted of corruption, with Lebeya saying one major-general was in custody awaiting sentencing.
“We don’t discriminate. Those [bad] apples that needed to be attended to, we will deal with them,” he said.
Mchunu said crime in any form was a direct threat to stability and prosperity and eroded public trust in state institutions. It endangered people’s livelihoods, he said.
“With [the] little resources we have, no-one can say we are not doing anything; jails are full, courts [are busy], and there are arrests every time.”
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