/ 3 June 2014

Former deputy police chief Hlela in court on corruption charges

Former deputy national police commissioner Hamilton Hlela.
Former deputy national police commissioner Hamilton Hlela.

Former deputy national police commissioner Hamilton Hlela appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Tuesday on four counts of corruption.

He handed himself to the police on Tuesday, said Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko. He was released on a warning and the matter was postponed to June 27.

Hlela (57) is accused of accepting over R52 000 in kickbacks from a service provider during his term of office. Between 2008 to 2009 the money was allegedly used to pay for family leisure trips, university and school fees.

Hlela retired from the police in 2010. He was responsible for the supply chain management division at the police national head office in Pretoria. 

Hlela also came under fire for the police leasing scandal involving then police commissioner Bheki Cele in 2011.

A board of inquiry was appointed by President Jacob Zuma and chaired by Judge Jake Moloi to establish whether Cele acted corruptly, dishonestly, or with an undeclared conflict of interest in relation to two police lease deals signed with Roux Shabangu.

In Cele’s testimony at the time, he portrayed his former deputy and procurement head Hamilton Hlela as a dubious character who did things behind his back and did not follow proper procedures. Cele said he had come close to signing a R3-billion public-private-partnership deal for the construction of new police headquarters at a site in Pretoria.

Being from Durban, he was fairly new in Pretoria when his former deputy and procurement head Hamilton Hlela encouraged him to sign the contract on the bonnet of a car – three weeks after he took office.

Cele was later found guilty and removed from his position as police commissioner. – Sapa