Former acting national police commissioner Kgomotso Phahlane faces a formidable legal battle as he is an accused in two separate criminal cases.

Phahlane faces charges in connection with an allegedly fraudulent tender to buy emergency equipment for the SA Police Service (SAPS) a few years ago.

In the latest case, he was arrested earlier this week with other suspects including three Crime Intelligence officers.

Early on Wednesday, Daily Maverick reported that a total of six suspects, including Phahlane, were arrested on Monday and Tuesday.

From right: Khomotso Phahlane, Avendra Naidoo, Major-General Obed Nemutanzhela, Inbanathan Kistiah and Lieutenant-Colonel Godfrey Mahwayi at the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday. (Photo: Hloni Mokoena)

Aside from Phahlane (whose first name is spelt “Khomotso” in some legal documents), the other five arrested were the acting head of the Crime Intelligence secret fund, Major-General Obed Nemutanzhela; Crime Intelligence information and technology head Lieutenant-Colonel Godfrey Mahwayi; the head of Crime Intelligence in the Free State, Major-General Agnes Makhele; Durban businessman Inbanathan Kistiah and a business associate of his, Avendra Naidoo.

The group appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday.

HAPPENING NOW] Former National Police Commissioner Kgomotso Phahlane, Lieutenant Colonel Godfrey Mahwayi, Major General Obed Nemutanzhela, Major General Agnes Makhele, businessmen Inbanathan Kistiah & Avendra Naidoo, appearing in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court pic.twitter.com/kL617H56oT

— NPASouthAfrica (@NPA_Prosecutes) September 21, 2022

Former acting national police commissioner Kgomotso Phahlane arrives at the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday. (Photo: Hloni Mokoena)

A video taken by an eNCA reporter showed a smiling Phahlane entering the courtroom.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority, Phahlane and his five co-accused “face charges of fraud, corruption, theft, and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act pertaining to two police tenders issued in 2016, with an estimated value of R54-million.”

The state did not oppose their release on bail and they each paid varying amounts for their release.

The group is expected back in the dock next month.

No more impunity

After their court appearance on Wednesday, Investigating Directorate head advocate Andrea Johnson described the matter as “a seminal case” that endorsed the directorate’s commitment to dealing with corruption.

“It is also dealing with the lack of accountability, which to date has undermined the legitimacy of the law and shows that the wheels of justice are turning and impunity is no longer a given,” she said.

“On the contrary, the rule of law is the most important protection of the weak against the whims of the powerful, and it is what stands between us and tyranny.”

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Some of the charges the accused face related to software called Daedalus which “made it impossible for investigators to get call records from cellphone providers”.

Earlier on Wednesday, Daily Maverick’s Marianne Thamm reported that the six were detained in connection with a tender that was aimed at encrypting phone calls and spying on individuals on social media during the #FeesMustFall protests.

The top cops and the grabber

Thamm also reported that Kistiah, in an apparently separate issue, was being investigated for Crime Intelligence’s allegedly unlawful attempt to procure a surveillance device known as a grabber, for the heavily inflated price of R45-million (the regular price was R7-million), ahead of the ANC’s elective conference at Nasrec in December 2017.

At the time, Khehla Sitole was the newly appointed national police commissioner.

He subsequently claimed that former police minister Fikile Mbalula had informed him of an alleged “security threat” at the Nasrec conference — which led to the attempted procurement of the grabber.

Sitole, like Phahlane, also stepped down from the top job under a cloud. He left at the end of March, with the Presidency saying it was in the country’s best interests.

Adding to potential legal issues Sitole faced was the Independent Police Investigative Directorate lodging criminal complaints against him, alleging that he failed to cooperate with its investigation into the September 2020 assassination of Western Cape detective Charl Kinnear.

Sitole denied this.

From police chief to corruption accused

Back to Phahlane. Former president Jacob Zuma appointed him to act as national police commissioner in October 2015.

Two years later, the tables turned. Phahlane was told to step down from the post on 1 June 2017 over corruption claims.

He subsequently faced criminal charges in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.

Phahlane, along with others, was accused of corruption and fraud in that matter, known as the “blue lights” case. It’s linked to an allegedly fraudulent tender to supply emergency equipment to the SAPS in 2016.

It is understood this case is set to resume in early November.

‘I am innocent’

Daily Maverick previously reported that in June this year, Phahlane approached the Public Protector and requested an investigation into how his police career had ground to a halt.

In a report to the Public Protector, Phahlane was portrayed as an innocent individual, taking the fall for others in the police service.

Part of the report to the Public Protector said: “The 1st of June 2022 brought about a completion of a vicious five-year circle/period of an onslaught, character assassination, assault on one’s integrity, abuse of power and authority including insults experienced in a malicious and destructive battle for the soul and control of the South African Police Service waged against Lieutenant General Johannes Khomotso Phahlane.”

There were four other matters, each dating back about five years, under investigation against Phahlane.

It is not clear if the #FeesMustFall case, in which he is now also accused, is among those. DM