Police National Commissioner Bheki Cele said on Thursday morning police had not yet found crime intelligence boss Lieutenant General Richard Mdluli after a warrant for his arrest was issued.
“We haven’t yet [found him],” said Cele at the parliamentary portfolio committee on police.
He said police had been asked to find him, and Mdluli’s attorney’s had contacted police to hand him over on Monday. “We have not agreed to this. We hope to find him sooner.”
Police spokespersons have not said what the warrant was for.
The chairperson of the committee said the law must be allowed to take its course on the matter.
“We have learnt with some concern of the intended arrest of General Mdluli. The charges are quite serious and we believe that where wrongdoing or crime has been suspected, the law must be allowed to take its course,” said committee chairperson Lydia Chikunga.
She said that it should be remembered that in South Africa people are considered innocent until proven guilty. Law processes should be allowed to unfold freely without any interference “so that justice can be seen to be done in this case”.
Chikunga said the committee would monitor the progress in the case.
‘Unannounced visit’
The Mail & Guardian reported last week that the Hawks were probing Mdluli and Gauteng crime intelligence boss Joey Mabasa over allegations that they interfered with the Hawks’ investigation into Czech fraud accused Radovan Krejcir. Newspaper reports on Thursday morning suggested that Mdluli was being investigated for the death of an ex-lover’s husband, who was shot dead in February 1999.
The slain husband, Oupa Ramogibe, apparently received death threats after marrying Mdluli’s ex-lover. He was allegedly told to leave her or he would be killed.
At the time, Mdluli was station commander at Vosloorus police station, east of Johannesburg, reported Beeld.
Both Beeld and the Star reported that Mdluli was supposed to have handed himself over to police on Tuesday, but failed to do so. An accomplice, however, allegedly did hand himself over.
City Press reported earlier in March that tensions between Cele and Mdluli were “sky high” after two police “spies” raided the Public Protector’s office.
Cele was reported to be livid when he found out about the “unannounced visit” to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s Pretoria office.
Police management suspended the two counter-intelligence officers.
“An inside source told City Press that tension between Cele and Mdluli had been simmering for a while, with Mdluli being seen by Cele and his supporters as the last senior official left in the police from the Jackie Selebi era,” the newspaper reported.
Mdluli was promoted from deputy head of Gauteng police to head of national crime intelligence on July 1 2009 by acting police chief Tim Williams. — Sapa