The two high-ranking senior law enforcement officers faced charges of, and were found guilty of:
• kidnapping,
• intimidation,
• assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and
• defeating the ends of justice.
They appeared before Judge Ratha Mokgoathleng in the South Gauteng High Court on July 30.
The two denied kidnapping Oupa Ramogibe of Vosloorus in 1999. The judge heard how the victim was kidnapped after he married a local woman known as a Tshidi Buthelezi, who was Mdluli’s former schoolmate and childhood sweetheart.
According to evidence provided in court, the couple began to receive death threats soon after their marriage. The court heard how Ramogibe was later shot and killed under mysterious circumstances while he was assisting detectives from the Vosloorus SAPS to investigate a case of attempted murder on his life.
Both the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges against them, with Mdluli questioning the 13-year period it has taken the court to re-instate the case on the roll. Mdluli dismissed the charges against him and described them as fabricated evidence by his former superiors to tarnish his name and image in the police force.
The former National Crime Intelligence boss and his co-accused will have to wait until September 19 and 20 to hear their fate, as sentencing of all four charges will be delivered by Mokgoathleng in the Gauteng High Court.
Mdluli has indicated he plans to appeal the judge’s verdict.
