Captain Morris 'KGB' Tshabalala sits in the dock at the Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria during his bail hearing.
Former crime intelligence officer Morris “Captain KGB” Tshabalala has been dismissed from the police service days after he was arrested for allegedly defrauding the crime intelligence secret service account.
A document seen by News24 confirms that Tshabalala was dismissed from the police on January 26, 2018, just days after he was arrested by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
But according to national police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, Tshabalala was dismissed in 2013 after it was found that he was convicted of armed robbery in 1996 and that he had absconded from serving his ten-year prison sentence. He was only rearrested in 2013.
Tshabalala joined the police in 2002.
Naidoo said:”We said since 2013 he was not on our system, he was not on our payroll.”
“We need to get an explanation on how somebody who has not been in our system, who has not been an employee of the organisation since 2013, been given a letter now saying his services be terminated,” said Naidoo.
IPID alleged that “Captain KGB” was reabsorbed by the police after being released from prison in 2015 and that he was still receiving a salary while incarcerated.
During his bail application last week in the Commercial Crimes Court in Tshwane, Tshabalala said he did not knowingly evade serving his prison sentence as his instructing law firm had told him at the time that his appeal against the conviction and sentence had succeeded in 1998.
R500 000 fraud
State prosecutor Chris Smith also told the court that Tshabalala was re-enlisted to crime intelligence after he was released from prison.
Tshabalala has been charged with fraud, theft and corruption which relates to alleged fraudulent invoices to the tune of R563 005, sourced for blinds and curtains for safe houses in Pretoria.
The invoices were submitted by Tshabalala and authorised by a major general, and the sum was paid out in cash.
IPID alleges that Tshabalala sourced a quote from Umwezo Wethu Promotions CC for R270 000, but requested R478 900 to be paid to him from the crime intelligence secret service account.
He allegedly pocketed R208 900, and then received an additional R50 000 as a kickback from Umwezo Wethu Promotions.
In another transaction, he allegedly requested R85 105 from crime intelligence, but only paid the same company R39 500, pocketing R45 605.
Tshabalala was denied bail. The matter has been postponed to March 22 for further investigation.