MANDY WIENER: The police dominoes begin to fall

Just before noon, on a warm Parisian day in September, a grim discovery is made in a courtyard at the base of the city’s tallest skyscraper. The body is that of a South African diplomat, the Ambassador no less, a man who once held one of the most powerful portfolios in the country’s cabinet. The former Police Minister had flung himself from the 22nd floor of the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile hotel. A duty magistrate would visit the scene soon after and report that initial inquiries suggest it could have been a deliberate act, without the involvement of a third party.

Police investigators would find that the window safety mechanism in his room had been forced open with scissors that had been left on site. There were no signs of struggle. There was no evidence of drugs. The night before, the diplomat had sent a disturbing message to his wife apologising, saying he wanted to take his own life. The hotel room had been booked ten days prior. Perhaps the plan had been some time in the making.

It just so happens that around that time, an inquiry into the political capture of thepolice in South Africa had begun, and the ambassador’s name had been mentioned in association with political interference. Were those being implicated in the sordid web of corruption cleaning house? There was something Putinesque about the death, an apparent suicide in a European capital. But even if he wasn’t pushed, perhaps he was pushed by his crimes.

The above reads like the prologue of a riveting novel about foreign espionage, dangerous deception and blackmail with deadly consequences. It is straight out of Mpho Boshego’s Diplomatic Ties, which I have just read and may explain my tendencies.

But in reality, it is the tragic story of Nathi Mthethwa, South Africa’s ambassador to France, who passed away earlier this week. By all accounts, it was death by suicide, and we don’t know the extent of Mthethwa’s mental state, personal circumstances or the psychological pressures he was under.

But South Africans, who are so familiar with truth being stranger than fiction, were quickto speculate about what may have happened. Some would argue unfairly so.

That is because the reality we are dealing with at the Madlanga inquiry is one so surreal that it sounds and reads like fiction. We are hearing from the country’s most senior police officers about WhatsApp exchanges between wealthy, influential fixers, pressure being applied, investigations being meddled with and billions of rands at stake.

There are going to be consequences from this testimony. Ideally, those consequences will ultimately be a more accountable, efficient and transparent police service that is beyond reproach.

But we would be naïve to think that there won’t be fallout in the shadows, too. Many people have much to lose if their operations are exposed and the taps are turned off. There will be criminal investigations, prosecutions and accountability. Jobs will be lost. Networks will be smashed. We live in hope.

With the rise in targeted assassinations across the country, the dominoescould begin to fall with deathly implications. This is why it is paramount that the security of the Madlanga commission is of the best calibre.

It is also essential that the commission leaves no room for speculation, as it did with the resignation of evidence leader Advocate Terry Motau.

Initially, the commission did not confirm that Motau had resigned and only once media reports revealed details did it issue a statement.

Similarly, when Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo fell ill this week and had to leave the commission, there were raised eyebrows. But the SAPS were quick to issue a statement calming any alarm by saying he was receiving medical treatment and was in good spirits.

The Madlanga commission has a long way to go still, but we are already seeing signs of some of the dominoes beginning to fall. We also need to remember that there will be rebuttals from those who have been implicated by the first witnesses. That testimony will have implications, too.

Reputationsand careers are at stake. Expect people to do whatever is necessary to protect them.