Godfrey Mahwayi, Inbanathan Kistiah, Maanda Obert Nemutanzhela, Avendra Naidoo, Kgomotso Phahlane and Mankosana Agnes Makhele during their appearance at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. (Photo: Hloni Mokoena/Daily Maverick)
This week’s suspension of three senior crime intelligence officers, who are facing R54-million tender fraud and corruption charges, has exposed allegations of sinister intimidation of state witnesses in the case.
Staged hijackings and car crashes are allegedly some of the threats that have been made against those set to testify, who cannot yet be named.
Moreover, the Mail & Guardian has established that Lieutenant Colonel Godfrey Mahwayi — the now-suspended commander of crime intelligence’s IT section and an accused in the corruption case — was flagged as “high risk” for supposedly committing more crime within the division due to his alleged R679 409 personal debt.
Mahwayi did not respond to repeated attempts for comment.
According to a document submitted to national commissioner Fannie Masemola, dated 27 September and which M&G has seen, Mahwayi was “living well beyond his means” and was “nine months in arrears with debts due and payable to various creditors giving a total overdue debt of R679 409”.
“This alone makes Lieutenant Colonel Mahwayi high risk and likely to commit further crime while he is on bail,” reads the document, whose author will remain anonymous.
Mahwayi, former national commissioner Khomotso Phahlane, Major General Maanda Nemutanzhela, who headed covert intelligence, and Major General Mankosana Makhele, Free State’s head of crime intelligence, are charged with fraud, corruption, theft, and contravening the Public Finance Management Act.
Colonel Athlenda Mathe, spokesperson for the national police, said Masemola — after receiving a report from the Investigating Directorate, a division of the National Prosecuting Authority — had “followed due process” in suspending Mahwayi, Nemutanzhela and Makhele.
The charges relate to a December 2016 contract, when the company Brainwave “fraudulently” received a more than R1.1-million monthly contract to supply spyware to monitor students protesting under the #FeesMustFall banner. The students were to be spied on for seven months.
A document dated August 2021 shows that Brainwave ended up pocketing more than R54.2-million from just seven invoices; the lowest of which was for more than R3.6‑million, and the highest for more than R8.4-million.
The spy equipment is known as Ripjar and Daedalus and would have been used “to monitor the social media activities” of the students.
Inbanathan Kistiah and Avendra Naidoo — who allegedly assisted Kistiah to create a fictitious bidding war using his ex-wife’s company Perfect Source — are the other accused. During their bail application on 21 September, all indicated their intention to plead not guilty to all charges.
But on 30 September, a witness was involved in a car accident following a “suspicious” vehicle failure in what sources close to the investigation said was part of the supposed tampering with the state’s evidence.
The allegedly orchestrated car accident came on the back of another witness having their car hijacked just a few days prior. This was apparently known to the crime intelligence division before the witness had even reported the crime to the police.
“The state wanted to revoke the bail of the three senior officers because there is evidence among the investigators that Namantunzhela, Mahwayi and Makhele were aware of the staged hijacking,” said one source, who asked to remain anonymous.
“The witnesses did not want the state to revoke the bail of the accused out of fear that there would be reprisals. It made no sense for the officers not to be suspended immediately after their arrest.”
The police did not respond to the allegations that its suspended employees, while not on suspension following their arrest two weeks ago, had interfered and intimidated witnesses who are still employed by crime intelligence.
Mathe said national commissioner Masemola had served the officers with intention-to-suspend letters around 27 or 28 September, and added that the cops were given a week to make representations as to why they should not be placed on precautionary suspension.
“The employer has initiated departmental steps against the three senior officers alleged to be involved in the irregular procurement of social media monitoring and mobile encryption software,” Mathe said.
An insider, who asked to remain anonymous, said Mahwayi had tried to stave off suspension with claims he was the only one who could operate the system linked to crime intelligence’s infamous secret services fund, known as “the slush fund”.
Former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli is facing fraud and corruption charges related to allegedly “looting” the slush fund.
An internal crime intelligence document M&G has sourced showed how Mahwayi’s “commander”, whose name cannot be mentioned, asserted that the accused fraudster was the only “technical expert to various covert applications and communications” within the slush fund.
Mahwayi “is responsible for managing and solving all the technical challenges within the environment nationally. Without his experience and knowledge, the secret service account is at risk that the covert communication and applications can come to a standstill,” reads the document, dated 9 September.
“Other members are also still learning and are not nearly on Lieutenant Colonel Mahwayi’s skill and knowledge level,” the internal note added.
But a source alleged that the submission was a ruse to keep the allegedly corrupt cops on the beat.
“The investigators suspect that, as soon as Mahwayi is suspended, the state would likely discover a lot of wrongdoing. Investigators don’t buy the story of a system [related to] the secret service account being important to the security of the state.”
Sindisiwe Seboka, spokesperson for the Investigating Directorate, said the unit would not comment, adding: “We will allow the SAPS to handle their own internal matters.”
On 20 December 2016, according to documents that form part of the investigation, Mahwayi wrote a motivation letter, which was eventually approved by Phahlane, for the police to buy equipment to spy on students.
“The required platform will provide a complete user profile with all the links and a list of roleplayers on a specific matter, and identified user profiles can be further tapped into in order to get personal information, pictures and physical location of the user,” reads Mahwayi’s letter.
The accused, who are all out on bail, will return to court in December.
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