Wally Mbhele and Barry Streek
The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) conducted a secret probe into controversial correctional services commissioner Khulekani Sitole last year.
Most of the NIA’s investigations focused on the allegations which sparked Auditor General Henri Kluever’s probe into Sitole.
Kluever revealed this week that Sitole ran a soccer team from his department, paid himself merit awards and took expensive overseas trips at the expense of the taxpayer.
The NIA proposed a commission of inquiry be established into the Department of Correctional Services. Senior department officials gave the NIA allegations against Sitole. “The submitted documents do not show any level of corruption,” the NIA reported. It had focused on Sitole’s accumulation of wealth.
The NIA says Sitole has a lavish lifestyle. He lives at Pretoria Central Prison but owns a house in Leondale, which is rented out. He bought another house in Monument Park, an SLK Mercedes Benz, a 737 BMW and a C-Class Mercedes – all with cash.
“He also owns a BMW 316 that was bought by the Department of Correctional Services, a white Mercedes Benz which he gave to his mother and a white Sentra which he gave to his mother-in-law,” alleged the NIA.
The NIA recommended that all directors general be asked to declare their assets. “This particular director general needs to be asked to do so and account for his actions of buying cash.”
However, Sitole hit back when approached by the Mail & Guardian with these allegations. He said the BMW 316 “was a government subsidised vehicle which was fully paid up by myself. I have no white Sentra but [I own] a charcoal Sentra, which I bought from a [police] auction for approximately R10 000.
“I do not own a BMW 737 as alleged. However, I do own a BMW 735 … which I bought at a scrapyard … as a built-up vehicle.”
Sitole produced bond statements, a Bankfin statement for his Mercedes Benz C-Class, and a statement for his Mercedes SLK 200A, bought with financing from Stannic.
Minister of Correctional Services Ben Skosana says Kluever’s findings “signal an end to the continuous misperceptions and misrepresentation of true facts in the Department of Correctional Services”.
That is unlikely, particularly following the sharply critical comments about Sitole by Kluever and the intense questioning of the commissioner by Parliament’s joint committee of public accounts this week.