/ 7 May 2013

Gupta escort cops back at work

Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said the nine allegedly formed a contingent that used private vehicles illegally fitted with police blue lights
Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said the nine allegedly formed a contingent that used private vehicles illegally fitted with police blue lights

"I can confirm that some of the officers are back on duty and others will report for duty as per their shifts," superintendent Isaac Mahamba told the Times on Tuesday.

Mahamba said preliminary investigations would indicate what disciplinary action should be brought against the officers. A preliminary report would be released on Tuesday.

Metro police were still waiting for a police report about the arrests.

The officers were arrested for allegedly fitting illegal blue lights and false number plates to their private vehicles last week to escort guests at a Gupta family wedding from Waterkloof Air Force Base, in Pretoria, to Sun City, in North West.

Police spokesperson brigadier Phuti Setati could not confirm whether the metro police officers had appeared in court.

A high-ranking police officer, three air force officers and the chief of state protocol have been suspended for their alleged part in the unauthorised landing of a jet chartered by the Gupta family at the military base.

New revelations
Meanwhile, the M&G reported on Tuesday that new documents have shown that, contrary to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF)'s claims, the Gupta plane's landing at Waterkloof Air Force Base was authorised by it.

The papers revealed the now-infamous Gupta plane was cleared by SANDF after all, and that clearance for the flight to land was clearly given on the basis that the plane carried "central government ministers" from India.

While three SANDF officials were suspended in the wake of the furore, the documents seen by the M&G showed the buck did not stop with them – and their superiors knew about the flight.

The documents revealed that the national defence force knew about plans to land a plane full of "central government ministers" – which turned out to be Vega Gupta's wedding guests – from India at Waterkloof by late February – and that the landing was, in fact, authorised. It also shows that the process began with the defence attaché in the Indian high commissioner's office, and not the Indian high commissioner himself.

The document showed that a request for permission to use the Waterkloof base was first made in late February – more than a month before the date claimed by the government – and the request did, in fact, go to the SANDF. – Additional reporting by Sapa