POLITRICKING | Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka calls for cool heads amid explosive SAPS syndicate allegations

“In the end, the truth will come out,” words from the Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka when asked to weigh in on the staggering allegations made over the weekend by KwaZulu Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi about a criminal syndicate which has allegedly captured top officials across policing departments, along with parts of the judiciary and prosecutors. 

The claims also suggest police minister Senzo Mchunu has also used his position to benefit a known criminal, which included his decision to disband the KZN political killings unit and sabotaging investigations.

Gcaleka, who features on this week’s Politricking with Tshidi Madia, an EWN politics podcast, reluctantly shared her thoughts on the allegations, just days before the matter was brought to her office.

“It was quite shocking. But again, I'm the Public Protector, heading Public Protector South Africa, and we've got an investigative methodology, and I think it's basically the principles of law, of saying what happened, what should have happened, if there's a discrepancy in what have happened, what has been reported, how should that be remedied? So, and what happened is not just a one-sided story,” she said.

Just hours after, the African Transformation Movement turned to her office, calling for an investigation into the collapse of the political killings task team.

ATM parliamentary leader Vuyo Zungula, called on the advocate to conduct a full-scale probe into “executive misconduct of the highest order.”

The public protector urged for cool heads, calling on the country to allow for due process to take its course.

Part of Mkhwanazi’s complaint was that in the battles currently raging on in the force, senior leaders were being taken down for administrative reasons, on this Gcaleka admitted that it was concerning hearing such, as she expected those entrusted with public power to use it with caution.

Her office has made public a series of reports into some of its most recent investigations, which included findings on the controversial R23 million tender issues for the Lesseyton Sports field in Komani, in the Eastern Cape, which showed several procurement irregularities, and the appointed contractor failed to deliver on the project, even after going over budget by almost R5 million.

She has also referred the matter to the specialised policing unit, the Hawks for investigation.

Gcaleka, who remains optimistic about the country’s future emphasised the importance of ethics and integrity as a standard for the country, saying this will drive the country towards the fortunes its envisaged for itself.

“There needs to be a political will to ensure that those are the standards that are being upheld, and the political leadership needs to lead by example. But again, the political leadership is elected by our society, so as a country, as a society, as a community, as a family, we really need to get back to basics,” she said.

The advocate also shared her thoughts on the killing of an auditor in Ekurhuleni, Mpho Malefane who was gunned down, with the city’s mayor suggesting the assassination was linked to an investigation into a R2 billion scandal, which saw the electricity bills of some businesses wiped clean.

“That's very sad, I must say, when I learned of that story, one cannot hold back but wonder what is happening in Ekurhuleni. But I mean, we've seen that in several incidences in our country,” she said.

In reflecting on a series of attacks on those seeking to investigate graft at state level, she said this is not an isolated incident, calling on the country to dig deeper in understanding what took place and following it up with the necessary action.

“We need to say what really happened here… there has been an audit, there’s been this issue but what is the root cause, because if we don’t get to the root cause, it’s very difficult to address the issues on a case-by-case basis,” she explained.

 When asked about the common challenges facing South Africans, that come through her doors, Gcaleka said there was a serious issue with non-compliance in the country.

“I think looking into these is that we tend to forget that we are dealing with people's lives. You know, for instance, overlooking due process and not granting somebody a grant that they're supposed to get… you deprive them, just by overlooking simple processes,” she said.

She also said there was a lack of systems, to assist in the implementation of the legislative framework, this sometimes is being seen in the provision of the grants, where there are no appeals processes in place, leaving people without recourse as and when they need it.