Crime intelligence descends into dysfunctionality

The latest onslaught on the economy at the Mooi River toll plaza in KwaZulu-Natal, where 35 trucks were torched recently, shows the crime intelligence division of the South African Police Service (Saps) has been caught napping.

The violent protest in Mahikeng in Northern Province and yesterday’s protests in Lenasia and Eldorado Park in Johannesburg are other examples of police being apparently unaware of what’s brewing.

“It’s intelligence in general,” said Centre for Constitutional Rights director Phephelaphi Dube. “If you consider the current dispute between the inspector-general and the head of the State Security Agency, the real risk is that personal battles and internal politics are crippling these organisations.”

This was why there were so many flare-ups in the country, she added.

“What happened at Mooi River, where 35 trucks were burnt, clearly somebody planned it.”

Barely a month after an initial protest, about R200 million in vehicles and products went up in flames in Mooi River.

The budget vote – R91.8 billion for the police in total, R3.8 billion of which is for crime intelligence – noted that crime intelligence completed 876 operations successfully last year.

“However, the rate of decline is very low,” the 2016-17 Statistics SA Victims of Crime survey stated.

StatsSA noted the number of incidents of crime per household had not followed the same pattern. “In fact, for most types of crime this indicator has been increasing. Thus, fewer households are victimised, but more often.”

Crime intelligence’s problems were legion and many seemed to originate with former president Jacob Zuma’s appointment of Richard Mdluli as head of police crime intelligence in 2009, the Institute for Security Studies’ Gareth Newham said.

He said former crime intelligence internal auditing head Kobus Roos reported serious evidence of fraud and corruption relating to the secret services account to Mdluli.

“In response, Roos was transferred. Crime intelligence commander Mark Hankel gathered evidence on how Mdluli and others had allegedly plundered the secret services account. He too was forced out.”

Crime intelligence has only made the news in instances such as the arrest of the division’s Sergeant Nandi Rose Nkosi for alleged involvement in a murder attempt on forensic consultant Paul O’Sullivan, Mdluli’s ongoing case and allegations he was still running the division despite his suspension.

Then there was Morris “Captain KGB” Tshabalala, who was appointed to the division despite his armed robbery conviction.

Former acting head Major-General Pat Mokushane allegedly did not have security clearance and Brigadier Leonora Bamuza-Phetlhe was accused of fabricating security clearance for him.

Saps did not respond to requests for information by the time of going to print.

– news@citizen.co.za

Also read:  Mdluli legal team requests documents in support of conspiracy theory

For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.