Police Raids
Police raided top officials over the R2 billion Tembisa Hospital scandal, targeting Deputy Commissioner Sibiya and others accused of shielding syndicates within the police ranks.
As armed forces descended on the homes of various key figures linked to the Tembisa Hospital corruption and the alleged infiltration of the police by some of the implicated tender and drug syndicates, South Africans have welcomed the long-awaited legal consequences against some of the implicated persons.
On Thursday, members of the police, believed to have been sent by the National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, stormed the residence of Deputy Police Commissioner, Shadrack Sibiya, who has been fingered by KZN Provincial Police Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanzai, as being at the centre of protecting some of the members of the drug cartels, whose influence on police is at the centre of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, and the ongoing ad hoc committee, both established to probe allegations made by Nhlanhla Mkhwanzai early this year.
Sibiya is being accused by both Mkhwanazi and his senior General Masemola of trying to protect criminals through an attempt to unlawfully disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).
The raid on his home on Thursday was preceded by another raid on the suspended chief of staff, Cedric Nkabinde, whose equally suspended police minister and boss, Senzo Mchunu, is accused of working in cahoots with his boss to allow the rot at the highest police office in the land.
During his press briefing in Sandton, Nkabinde told members of the media that the raids were yet another sponsored project aimed at tarnishing his image, saying this was a fishing expedition by Masemola and Mkhwanazi.
Nkabinde accused Masemola and Mkhwanazi of ordering an unlawful search and seizure in a bid to get his hands on his gadgets in a bid to plant incriminating evidence as part of their elaborate hunt.
“I have instructed my lawyers to relay these instructions to the national commissioner. I want to tell South Africans, should anything happen to me, the National Commissioner would be responsible, "he said.
On Thursday, Nkabinde held a press briefing alongside his lawyers in Sandton. Nkabinde has been accused of..... What I can say, we are ready and are eager to give our side of our story, and when we get there, the story will be different,’ he said.
During a raid at his home, where several laptops were seized during the raid, Sibiya revealed that he is innocent and is ready to fight until the bitter end, adding that he will continue working despite his suspension. Sibiya’s raid, which is connected to Nkabinde, following the Madlanga Commission and the ad hoc committee, is believed to be linked to Sibiya’s decision to transfer 121 case dockets from the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) in KZN to the police’s head office.
Sibiya's lawyer, Ian Levitt, accused the police of using excessive force against his client, saying this happened in August. “This is not the end, but the beginning. When you have six cars pull up heavily armed in masks, with gunmen with semi-automatic rifles, coming into your house with children and an old lady. They must think that there is an army, maybe. We have seen the unrelenting show of force in August. I do not know what the reason for this is,” he stated.
Responding to journalists, Sibiya said he does not understand why Mkhwanazi never stops mentioning his name every chance he gets.
“I am under pressure and I am under siege. Every day, I am called stupid in front of South Africans. I am also waiting for my day in the commission. There is a vengeance there with General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Every time he speaks, when I think that he has moved on, he comes back to speak about me,” Sibiya told members of the media gathered outside his property in Centurion.
Meanwhile, KZN Police Commissioner, Lt-Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who also appeared before the committee, raised concerns about rogue elements who try all means to infiltrate the SAPS, while on Thursday, during his first day before the ad hoc committee said syndicates are always working with top officials to infiltrate the system.
Meanwhile, as if the police raids were not enough, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) conducted its own search and seizure operation, which attached the assets at a luxury property in Sandton, said to be that of Hangwani Maumela, who is linked to the R2 billion corruption at Tembisa Hospital.
Maumela and two other businessmen, Vusimuzi Matlala and Rudolph Mazibuko, were among the key politically-connected individuals named by the SIU as having benefited through various irregular tenders at the hospital. Expand article logo Continue reading Maumela, who is President Cyril Ramaphosa's nephew from a previous marriage.
