National Police Commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, has pledged the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) support to institutions working on rooting out criminality in the service.
This comes after Deputy National Commissioner, Lieutenant General Bonang Mgwenya, was on Monday arrested by the Investigating Directorate (ID).
Mgwenya, Human Resource Management head at the SAPS, on Monday became the thirteenth suspect (nine of which are police men and women) to have been arrested in connection with multi-million rand tender fraud regarding emergency warning equipment (blue lights) for the South African Police services in 2017.
This follows the arrest of former acting National Commissioner, Khomotso Phahlane, former Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Deliwe de Lange, among other Generals and senior officers.
General Sitole has reaffirmed the support of the SAPS Top Management into any and all criminal investigations against any member of the SAPS stating that “nobody is above the law”.
“My position regarding criminality by members within the ranks of the SAPS has been made clear by the arrest of a multitude of SAPS members by a task team reporting to me on investigations into vehicle-marking-tender fraud as well as our support to the ID in respect of the blue-light-tender fraud investigation,” said General Sitole.
Sitole further stated that in all criminal cases involving police men and women, the law must take its course and justice must prevail.
In the meantime, following the arrest of Lt. General Mgwenya, the National Commissioner has put interventions in place to ensure that service delivery within the human resource environment is not compromised. – SAnews.gov.za