ActionSA national spokesperson Lerato Ngobeni (left) and national chairperson Michael Beaumont brief the media on an alleged SAPS cover-up in the Phala Phala matter in Johannesburg on 17 July. (Photo: Fani Mahuntsi / Gallo Images) “A masterclass in organised irresponsibility” – that’s how ActionSA MP Lerato Ngobeni described the South African Police Services (SAPS) internal investigation that cleared two top police officers at the centre of the Phala Phala scandal.
Ngobeni, alongside ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont, announced at a press conference in Rosebank, Johannesburg, on Friday, 17 July, that the party is set to legally challenge the SAPS investigation as well as what they allege is SAPS’ failure to comply with remedial actions recommended by the Public Protector.
The investigation cleared Presidential Protection Services head Major-General Wally Rhoode and Constable Hlulani Rekhoto of contravening SAPS regulations. The pair were accused of attempting to cover up the theft of approximately R10-million in US dollars from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s game farm, Phala Phala, in 2020. This outcome directly contradicted earlier findings by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) and the Public Protector.
“This decision, in our opinion, amounts to a cover-up worthy of Nathi Nhleko’s fire pool and has just about the same credibility,” Beaumont said.
Ngobeni and Beaumont said the party has instructed its attorneys to draw up papers and approach the North Gauteng High Court to set aside the “not guilty” findings and compel the SAPS to comply with the remedial actions recommended by the Public Protector.
The party alleges that the SAPS disciplinary investigation failed to “substantially engage” with the findings of both Ipid and the Public Protector by charging the pair with only two of the eight offences they were accused of. Further, it alleges that the SAPS failed to interview key witnesses and relied on the testimony of the pair without corroborating evidence.
The party will also request the complete disciplinary record be made available to the parliamentary Impeachment Committee and that the heads of both Ipid and SAPS be made available to explain the inconsistencies between their findings.
Public Protector deadline missed
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_615969_585931.jpg "ActionSA national spokesperson Lerato Ngobeni. (Photo: Fani Mahuntsi / Gallo Images )")
The matter stems from a 2024 disciplinary hearing into Rhoode and Rekhoto. The disciplinary hearing followed a 2022 investigation by Ipid into damning allegations that the pair were “mostly involved” in a suspected cover-up of the theft at Phala Phala.
In particular, Rhoode was accused of six violations of SAPS regulations and Rekhoto of two, which included: failure to report a prescribed offence as soon as they were aware of it to a commanding officer; conducting unlawful investigations using state resources; and falsifying police records.
A subsequent report by the Public Protector in June 2023 absolved the President of wrongdoing, but found that the pair had acted improperly. It accused the pair of investigating a crime without reporting it to a commanding officer; lying to the national police commissioner about their purpose for travelling to Namibia; registering a police docket; or recording it in official crime statistics. The report further found that Rhoodes had unlawfully assembled a team to investigate the housebreaking.
“Within sixty (60) calendar days from the date of receipt of this report ensure that appropriate action is initiated against Gen Rhoode and Sgt Rekhoto for contraventions of the SAPS prescripts as highlighted in this report, in line with the provisions of section 40 of the SAPS Act and Regulation 6 of the SAPS Discipline Regulations, 2016,” the Public Protector report recommended as remedial action.
But according to records obtained by ActionSA, the SAPS investigation only took place in February 2024, more than seven months after the Public Protector’s report was published and more than five months after the deadline given.
‘No meaningful analysis of competing evidence’
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_615961_218959.jpg "ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont says the SAPS failed to substantially investigate the alleged involvement of two police officers in a suspected cover-up of the Phala Phala matter. (Photo: Fani Mahuntsi / Gallo Images)")
Beaumont further alleges that of the eight regulations the pair were accused of breaching, SAPS only investigated two. The party obtained the record of decision for the matter that found the two not guilty. The decision concluded that neither had been the first or most senior officer on the scene and were therefore not responsible for opening a case docket and accepted the pair’s statements about their trip to Namibia.
However, Beaumont argued that the SAPS investigation failed to substantially investigate the matter.
“There is no meaningful analysis of competing evidence, no indication of witnesses being properly tested and repeated reliance on corroborating statements that were not produced. This raises serious questions about the integrity of the disciplinary proceedings,” Beaumont said.
“These are not minor procedural differences. They represent materially different conclusions reached by different state institutions examining substantially the same conduct. Those contradictions cannot simply be ignored.”
He added that further announcements will be made in the coming weeks once the party has filed its papers. DM