O’Sullivan to take his ‘kidnappers’ to the cleaners, says he wants R100m from state

Private forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan says he is going to sue the state for R100 million, and he is going to take every single house and car from those who had a part in detaining him on February 13 this year.

He said their families could go hungry because of their conduct.

He was speaking outside Pretoria Magistrates’ Court, where he briefly appeared with his assistant, Sarah-Jane Trent, and the two Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) members, Mandlakayise Mahlangu and Temane Abram Binang. The four face charges of fraud, intimidation, extortion and conspiracy.

Ipid head Robert McBride was also in court to show support. The case was postponed for further investigation.

O’Sullivan is the complainant in the criminal case investigation against suspended acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane.

The investigator said he was kidnapped on February 13 this year by the police. “They took my cellphone, and without telling me, they unlawfully downloaded my cellphone, and then they read out the private messages of my cellphone in parliament, which means they published it to the world.

“This is not just a criminal offence that they will be charged, but it is a civil breach of my constitutional rights, and I will be in the course of time be filling proper summons against the state.”

He said he would be naming each of the individuals in his summons. “I will ask for R100 million. I will additionally ask that each and every one of those individuals, that have caused that claim on the public purse, are themselves held liable. We’ll sequestrate them, and take their homes and their cars and everything, and their families can go hungry because of their conduct,” he said.

McBride said the investigation and charges against his two colleagues were an attempt to undermine the investigation against Phahlane. He said that was just time-wasting tactic to delay the investigation and keep investigators out of the game.

The case was postponed to October 6 for further investigation.