Trumped up charges? Hawks detective that investigated string of politicians given the boot

A senior Hawks detective with a history of clashing with his commanders for refusing to drop investigations against politicians, has been fired over what his sympathisers described as “trumped up” sexual harassment charges.

The Directorate for Priority Crime and Investigations (Hawks) found Commercial Crime Unit investigator Lieutenant-Colonel Luphumlo Lwana guilty on four of five charges of sexual harassment levelled against him.

Inappropriate remarks and innuendos

According to the charge sheet, which also gives the sanction, Lwana was found guilty of making innuendos, including inappropriate remarks or insinuations about a person’s sex life or private life in violation of section 40 of the South African Police Service Act (no 65 of 1995).

The guilty verdict was reached on 16 November 2023 and the officer was fired four days later.

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The first charge details that on 17 March 2021 Lwana told his female warrant officer colleague to stop talking to a certain male officer because he was an office Casanova whose last girlfriend’s life became a misery after they broke up.

The second charge alleges that Lwana told the same officer on 24 July 2021 that the real reason she didn’t like to work in the office is because she preferred being elsewhere with her romantic partner.   

The third charge alleges that on 7 September 2021, he told the same officer that she had a problem of not wanting to work on weekends and on holidays because she preferred to spend the time with her romantic partner.

The fourth charge, which he was found innocent of, alleged that on 23 November 2021, Lwana asked two other colleagues who had apparently given a lift to the same officer in question, whether they had dropped her off at her partner’s address.

The fifth and final charge alleged that from 27 to 29 September, while on a work trip at Cape Town’s Southern Sun Waterfront Hotel on 1 Lower Buitengracht Street, Lwana made the subordinate officer work with him until very late at night and denied her an opportunity to take phonecalls or use her cellphone.  

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Lwana challenging his sacking

Lwana refused to comment citing that the matter was “not over” as he was challenging it.

He said he had taken it to the Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council and his lawyer doesn’t believe it’s wise to talk about it to the media.

Hawks’ national spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said: “Dismissals and other disciplinary related matters within the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation are between employer and employee therefore the DPCI will deal with such internally according to merit.”

Lwana’s supporters within the Hawks told The Citizen that the national office had long been trying to get rid of him due to political interference over his work.

“These charges are frivolous. The office has been desperately looking for excuses to sack this hard-working investigator. He is being punished for executing his duties without fear or favour. The case was trumped up,” a Hawks insider said.   

At loggerheads with commanders

Lwana, who was based in the East London office of the Hawks, had on numerous occasions butted heads with his commanders in Pretoria and in the Eastern Cape for investigating or arresting heavyweight politicians.

In October 2017, Lwana opened a case of defeating the ends of justice with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) against then Hawks national head Lieutenant-General Yolisa Matakata for her alleged interference in an ongoing fraud investigation into a misuse of funds at the South African Social Services Agency (Sassa).

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His investigation focused on former Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini and Eastern Cape social development MEC Nancy Sihlwayi in relation to a misuse of R49 million Sassa funds meant for disaster victims.

The money was allocated for flood victims in the Eastern Cape but a huge chunk of it was allegedly spent on Sassa projects in other provinces with the rest paid to shoddy service providers in the Eastern Cape after tender processes were flouted.

The Hawks at the time denied the confiscation of the Sassa docket, saying the case against Dlamini and Sihlwayi was being investigated in Pretoria, not by Lwana.

Shielding of politicians

The Police, Prisons and Civil Rights Union (Popcru) at the time publicly said the confiscation was done to shield well-connected politicians from prosecution.

In August of the same year, Lwana had reported four high-ranking Hawks officers for carrying out a raid in his office which apparently led to string of dockets going missing.

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He alleged in a statement to Ipid that the people who raided his office were his Pretoria-based national commercial crime unit commander Major-General Alfred Khana, anti-corruption unit commander Colonel Lungisani Nzimande, provincial anti-corruption task team commander Colonel Mxolisi Nogemane, and a commercial crime unit commander Colonel CZ Toni.

The three colonels were all based in Eastern Cape.

Lwana rose to national fame in 2014 when he arrested former Eastern Cape health MEC Sindiswa Gomba and four others for allegedly siphoning R5.9 million from Buffalo City metro’s funds to prepare for Nelson Mandela’s funeral.   

At the time, Gomba was a senior councillor at the metro. Former Buffalo City mayor Zukiswa Ncitha, former deputy mayor Themba Tinta, former council speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele and then ANC regional secretary Pumlani Mkolo were among the politicians Lwana frogmarched to court.  

The trial against the politicians and businesspeople is still dragging on at the Bhisho High Court.

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