National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Fannie Masemola has assured South Africans the service is prepared to crack down on crime this festive season — and he has announced critical cop appointments.

During a press conference on Friday about festive season safety plans, Masemola introduced Lieutenant General Edith Mavundla as the head of the police’s Technology Management Service.

Mavundla, who took up the position on 1 December, joined the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 1987.

“She has vast experience in the Information Technology environment having served in a variety of senior roles including that of Component Head: Technology Governance,” Masemola said.

“She holds a National Diploma in Public Management and Administration and a B-tech degree in Business Information Systems.”

‘Rejuvenating Crime Intelligence’

Masemola also announced another more critical appointment — Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo as the new head of Crime Intelligence, a division of SAPS that has been without a permanent boss for about two years.

This came into effect on 1 December.

Masemola said Khumalo joined the SAPS as a student constable in 1991 and for 26 years was involved in operational response services and the Crime Intelligence environment.

“From 2006 to 2018 he served as a Component Head for National Operational Coordination where he was responsible for the integrated deployment of resources to crime hotspot areas throughout the country,” Masemola said.

“Due to his meticulous information gathering and analysis skills, the officer was assigned to lead intelligence-driven investigations in KwaZulu-Natal from 2018 to date.”

Based on a SAPS post on Facebook from January 2018, Khumalo was once named “senior operational manager of the year.”

The post said he reviewed “existing plans related to the combating of wildlife trafficking crimes” and this “led to the reduction of rhino poaching for the first time in a decade.”

Masemola on Friday said there was a perception that “the whole of Crime Intelligence is corrupt” but that this was not accurate and there were decent officers in the unit.

He said Khumalo would be supported, and he was “looking forward for him to rejuvenate that environment.”

‘SA not a fugitives’ playground’

During the press conference, Masemola outlined several police operations planned for the festive season and highlighted some successes.

He referred to international cases, saying: “The continuous arrest of wanted fugitives in the country should send a stern warning to all, that South Africa is not a playground and hiding place for criminals, either they hand themselves in or we fetch them.”

Masemola detailed a case involving suspected Black Axe members “accused of swindling multiple individuals and companies in the USA of millions of dollars.

“A total of 10 Nigerian nationals have been arrested in multiple raids across Johannesburg and Cape Town since April this year,” he said.

Daily Maverick previously reported that some authorities view Black Axe, which originated in Nigeria and is also known as the Neo Black Movement of Africa, as a cult.

Masemola on Friday also referred to last month’s arrest of alleged Israeli crime kingpin Yaniv Yossi Ben Simon, who he said was known as “the world’s most wanted Israeli.”

Simon was taken into custody with seven other men in Gauteng.

“Amongst the items seized from this scene include 19 firearms of which two were AK47s, a mini-Ruger with a silencer,” Masemola said.

“Eight vehicles including a sniper truck, frequency jamming devices, four drones and money counting machines and $40,000 gives us an indication that we have broken the back of a syndicate that is most likely linked to criminal underworld activities.”

Tackling cop corruption

Masemola addressed corruption in the SAPS.

He said six police officers were recently arrested in Limpopo for allegedly creating “a safe passage for smugglers to enter the country illegally in possession of illicit cigarettes in exchange for gratifications and bribes.”

In response to a recent Western Cape high court judgment that cops were colluding with gangsters, Masemola said a senior officer was appointed to investigate the allegations.

Daily Maverick has reported extensively on the judgment that was also the subject of a Western Cape police ombud investigation that found the allegations were probably true and indicative of a much broader problem.

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Masemola warned: “The SAPS management once again reiterates its stance to a zero tolerance approach towards corruption and other forms of criminality within its ranks.”

This warning in turn links to Khumalo’s new job as Crime Intelligence boss because the division has come under fire for various reasons including allegations that officers within it plundered secret accounts.

In September former acting national police commissioner Kgomotso Phahlane, who already faced corruption charges in another case, was also arrested, along with three serving Crime Intelligence officers and two businessmen.

They faced fraud, corruption, theft and contravening the Public Finance Management Act charges related to two police tenders issued in December 2016, worth about R54-million and linked to mobile communication encryption.

Allegations included that certain cops procured software that would make it impossible for investigators to get their phone call records — at a time when senior officers were under investigation for irregular procurement.

Security structure strengthening

President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his State of the Nation Address back in February, announced South Africa’s security arena was in for an overhaul.

“We will begin immediately by filling critical vacancies and addressing positions affected by suspensions in the State Security Agency and Crime Intelligence,” he said.

This has now — 10 months down the line — happened in terms of Crime Intelligence and Khumalo’s appointment.

Khumalo has his work cut out for him because controversy has consistently rocked the division.

Continuous controversies

In May the police committee in Parliament discussed what was happening at Crime Intelligence, with minutes from that meeting stating: “The committee expressed significant concern about the ongoing instability in the Crime Intelligence Division which remains without a Divisional Commissioner.”

The following month, June, Parliament heard that the previous police commissioner, Khehla Sitole, had received no Crime Intelligence reports ahead of the attempted insurrection of July 2021 that devastated parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Sitole, meanwhile, faced several problems and accusations.

Earlier this year he became the subject of two criminal complaints lodged by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).

This was due to allegations, which he denied, that he did not cooperate with its investigation into why a police officer, Charl Kinnear, who was assassinated in Cape Town in 2020, was not under state protection at the time.

Sitole stepped down from the national police commissioner post in March this year in a move the Presidency described as “in the best interests of the country.”

While Sitole was national police commissioner, Crime Intelligence became central to several controversies that highlighted divisions in the SAPS.

Suspension and looting claims

Lieutenant General Peter Jacobs was previously the national head of Crime Intelligence, having been appointed to the post in 2018.

But this resulted in several scandals.

Jacobs was handed a suspension notice on 30 November 2020.

This related to allegations of personal protective equipment procurement irregularities involving the secret service account.

For his part, Jacobs believed the allegations were bogus and previously countered that there was evidence suggesting that police officers, including Crime Intelligence colleagues, had abused the account.

‘Sidelined’

His suspension ended in March 2021 but instead of being allowed to return as Crime Intelligence head, he was placed at the police’s Inspectorate division.

Some within the SAPS believed he was sidelined.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant-General Yolisa Mokgabudi was appointed acting Crime Intelligence boss.

This did not last long and she reportedly resigned in September 2021 after just seven months in the job.

At some subsequent point, Major General Philani Lushaba was appointed acting Crime Intelligence head.

Crime Intelligence boss to convict

Daily Maverick previously reported on the deeper history of Crime Intelligence.

Back in July 2009, two months after Jacob Zuma was inaugurated as president marking what became known as the State Capture years, Richard Mdluli was appointed to head the division.

In 2011 Mdluli went on to be arrested and faced 18 charges, including murder, kidnapping, intimidation and defeating the ends of justice relating to a 1999 killing.

Mdluli was also suspended in 2011 and faced further charges linked to fraud and corruption — this related to looting of the secret service account.

In September 2020 he was sentenced to five years in jail for kidnapping, assault and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to his initial arrest.

Mdluli served roughly two years of that sentence but still faces corruption charges relating to secret service account looting.

That case is set to reach the pre-trial stage in February.

This all means that Khumalo takes over a police division still set to be in focus because of alleged criminality within. DM