Police Minister Bheki Cele. (Guillem Sartorio/AFP)
Minister Bheki Cele is under investigation for alleged unauthorised spending on trips he made to Dubai and Turkey and for allegedly spending R5.5-million of South African Police Service (SAPS) money on personal legal fees.
Details of the investigations are in a document signed by the deputy police commissioner, Lieutenant General Francinah Vuma, who is facing suspension. She claims her investigation into the police minister propelled this action against her.
Vuma also accused Cele of attempting to have her removed from office because she refused to appoint the companies he wanted, as well as investigations into alleged wasteful expenditure on his part. She claims he unlawfully bought a R120‑million “grabber” (spyware) without the proper authorisation, after he became police minister in February 2018. However, her allies in the police say the grabber was never purchased as the case was under Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) investigation.
Vuma is said to be linked to former national police commissioner Khehla Sitole, who clashed with Cele, who is firmly entrenched in the president’s faction in the ruling party. Sitole was shown the door by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Vuma made the allegations in a protected disclosure, in which she alleges a plot between the minister and national police commissioner Fannie Masemola to oust her.
Deputy police commissioner Lieutenant General Francinah Vuma. (Laird Forbes/Gallo Images)
In the disclosure, dated 6 July and sent to Ramaphosa as well as the parliamentary committee on police, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) and the National Prosecuting Authority’s Independent Directorate, Vuma accuses Cele of trying to influence the awarding of contracts and of interfering in the appointment of high-ranking officials.
Her claim is consistent with that of Sitole, who alleged before his firing that Cele was seeking to interfere in the running of the police service.
Vuma, who said she was served a notice to suspend her by Masemola on 1 July, believes this is because she was a “stumbling block who seeks to ensure fair and lawful governance”.
Vuma, who is the deputy national commissioner for asset and legal management, said she was summoned by Masemola on 22 June and informed that he was “under pressure” from “people internal and external to the SAPS”, who he refused to name, to suspend her from duty.
Vuma was given a notice of intention to suspend or temporarily transfer her the next day and told to provide reasons she should not be suspended by 4 July. She said she asked for an extension to respond thoroughly, which was denied.
Masemola’s “determined haste” made it clear that he was “driven by improper motives” and the move was “nothing but an attempt at getting his hands at the safe at the behest of those that couldn’t get their way in my presence”, Vuma added.
She said in the disclosure she was “scared both for my life and my livelihood because I have taken it upon myself not to be influenced in my decisions and to stand on principle”.
“I have communicated these issues with various persons disclosing the issues therein including the SSA [State Security Agency] who at a particular point were of the view that my life was in danger. Thus this written disclosure is my last resort,” she added.
She said she had been subpoenaed in June by the Independent Directorate to provide documents for an investigation into businessman Thoshan Panday, Cele (in his former capacity as national police commissioner) and others but had been “stonewalled” in such attempts.
Vuma said Cele had also tried to influence personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic using Lieutenant General Bonang Mgwenya, who had given the names of companies allegedly shortlisted by Cele to Lieutenant General Johannes Riet.
The contracts were not awarded to these companies but to service providers selected by the treasury.
“I was later called with Lieutenant General Riet to a meeting with the minister, where we were berated by the minister for ‘not wanting to buy from companies that we were given by Mgwenya’,” Vuma said, adding that the meeting happened in the presence of Masemola and Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, head of the Hawks.
Vuma also accused Cele of “berating” her about her investigation into Crime Intelligence head General Peter Jacobs regarding irregularities in the purchase of PPE using the secret service account.
Two high-ranking police officers, who asked to remain anonymous, independently confirmed Vuma’s version that the minister “berated” her and Riet for allegedly not procuring PPEs from his list of service providers.
One general with knowledge of the meeting alleged that Cele had used Mgwenya to deliver his instructions, and the minister became upset when Vuma and Riet allegedly defied his directives.
“At the meeting … Cele was lambasting them [Vuma and Riet] because Mgwenya was saying: ‘Supply-chain management does not want to procure the PPEs, and everything is being done from the HR [human resources] side’,” the general said.
“At that point, Riet told Mgwenya not to lie to the minister because the supply chain department was doing its best to procure the PPEs, but that the treasury had centralised procurement.
“He [Cele] was saying, ‘You are challenging my powers; I said you must procure this stuff and you refused to do that — a dereliction of duty’. That was the type of language he was using. But he is a minister and is prevented by the law from being involved in operational matters.”
Riet referred all queries to the SAPS, adding that he had left the police service.
In terms of section 28 of the SAPS Act, the national police commissioner is responsible for all operational matters, including the appointment of officers and managers, while section 206 of the Constitution limits the police minister’s role to the determination of the national policing policy.
The sources said Cele’s alleged meddling in operations led to the acrimonious relationship the minister had with Sitole.
The fractured relationship played out in May last year when the minister, in a harshly worded letter, instructed Sitole to reverse senior managerial positions the commissioner had made and briefed the parliamentary portfolio committee about.
“Your disregard for my position as the executive authority of the department of police and relevant regulations is regarded as serious and will not be tolerated,” Cele wrote.
Another senior officer said that since Sitole was fired Cele had continued to meddle in police operations and was “walking all over” Masemola.
The source said Cele’s tirade this week in Gugulethu reflected his ignorance about policing. The minister verbally attacked Ian Cameron of Action Society, a civil rights organisation.
“That young man [Cameron] was questioning him on operational issues; the minister exposed himself because he started talking about politics and Robben Island, which was irrelevant for that particular meeting,” the police officer said.
Vuma has also been embroiled in controversy, including for her role in trying to keep classified evidence related to alleged fraud in the R45‑million procurement of “grabber” spyware. It was to be used to spy on the ANC’s 2017 national conference at Nasrec, where Ramaphosa was elected president of the party.
The Zondo state capture report found that part of the R45-million was used “to buy the votes” of delegates attending the conference.
The supreme court of appeal ruled last year that Vuma and Sitole had breached their duties in concealing evidence, thereby blocking the IPID’s inquiry into the alleged graft.
In her disclosure, Vuma said Cele had also taken exception to her removing General Dinah Thema Nkosi as audit head because she was not qualified.
Vuma said she had started receiving “intimidating messages” from February 2021 about the Jacobs investigation into irregularities in the purchase of PPE from senior police officers, who she named.
“I also started to receive telephonic threats from different telephone numbers around the same time. Unknown cars were observed lingering around my house. As a result a threat assessment was conducted on me by Crime Intelligence,” Vuma said.
She said she had been informed by a Brigadier Mathebula that Cele had met Mgwenya and others and “hatched plans” to “falsely implicate me in nonexistent PPE corruption, which they realised they were not winning and wanted to get me killed”.
Vuma said she had initiated an investigation into Cele, Jacobs and others over the purchase of a “grabber” interception device at a cost of R120-million without the prerequisite exemption certificate from the department of justice and state security.
“As a result of this, the interception equipment that they purchased remains unutilised and wasted. I have instituted fruitless and wasteful expenditure investigations against all involved,” Vuma said. “This has seen me getting more threats and calls about this matter. I informed the former national commissioner as well and steps were being taken to ensure that I was safe.”
Police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe declined to comment on the allegations made by Vuma and on whether she was facing criminal charges or disciplinary action.
“This is a matter between employer and employee and as such the SAPS is not at liberty to discuss internal matters with third parties,” Mathe said.
Cele’s spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, said that both Cele and his deputy, Cassel Mathale, were “aware of the document. They are studying it and have no further comment at this point,” Themba said.
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