Phahlane adamant he has done no wrong

Former acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane yesterday insisted he has done nothing wrong and will plead not guilty on charges of corruption when he appears in court next month.

Phahlane, 50, and his wife, Brigadier Beauty Phahlane, 51, appeared before the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Court yesterday to face six counts of corruption and fraud for allegedly accepting “gratifications, discounts and motor vehicles” from the third accused, Durandt Snyman, a car dealership owner from Pretoria East.

Phahlane and his wife, a police officer based at the headquarters in Tshwane, were, according to the charge sheets, in possession of six cars between 2011 and 2017.

The cars, which included a Land Rover Discovery, Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan and two bakkies, were bought from, or sponsored by Snyman, with the state alleging Phahlane received as kickbacks for securing tenders when he was heading the police forensic division.

But in an affidavit read by his lawyer, Piet du Plessis, Phahlane said he did nothing wrong.

“From the charge sheet currently serving in the court, it appears that the charges against me are six of corruption as formulated in the charge sheet. I intend to plead not guilty.”

The Phahlanes handed themselves over to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) yesterday morning, after he was notified by Ipid on Tuesday to report for an arrest.

“I have been aware of this investigation against me for months now. The decision to have me arrested and brought before court is therefore not unexpected…,” Phahlane said in the affidavit.

The couple and Snyman were granted R10 000 bail each, and the matter was postponed to March 12.

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