Former finance and administration head of Crime Intelligence’s Secret Service Account, Tiyani Lincoln Hlungwani, on Thursday refused to disclose the name of the colleague who informed him that Crime Intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo was upset when he was acquitted in a criminal case he faced.

Testifying before the Ad Hoc Committee investigating allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Hlungwani said he would have to talk to “the confidential colleague” to check if he was willing to provide a statement to confirm what he stated in his affidavit.

“The reason I put that conversation is that the events that followed confirmed what the colleague was saying, the pressure exerted on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to appeal this matter,” he said.

Hlungwani also said the same person had tipped him off former Police minister Bheki Cele had insisted that there should be an appeal in the case, no matter the prospects of success.

“I have no reason not to believe this person,” he said when responding to questions from MK Party MP Sibonelo Nomvalo.

In his testimony on Wednesday, Hlungwani said he had been arrested after an allegation was made that he had given instructions for money to be transferred to a personal bank account of a Crime Intelligence officer, and that he had backdated a deviation letter for advance payment to be used for an executive management meeting.

He said he was acquitted at the end of the case, and Khumalo was apparently upset with his acquittal.

“He did not want me to get back to the Slush Fund,” said Hlungwani, citing that in instances of fraud, he opened criminal cases.

The Investigative Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) has a lot of cases that he opened, he told the parliamentary inquiry.

“When Cele came, the cases were taken to IDAC mainly because they were to be neutralised,” said Hlungwani.

According to Hlungwani, when the NPA appealed his acquittal, the matter was heard without his knowledge by two judges despite notifying the prosecutor where to serve him with court papers.

“The NPA was pressurised to appeal. They took advantage that I was self-represented. The matter was heard without my knowledge, and I did not even know it was set down.”

Earlier, Hlungwani, who was dismissed for being away from work for more than a month, testified about Khumalo’s appointment and security clearance certificate.

“I was approached by one of the senior managers who has direct knowledge of this issue and complained how they had been put under pressure to grant General Khumalo a security clearance,” he said, adding that the senior manager had made a complaint to suspended Inspector-General of Intelligence Imtiaz Fazel, who confirmed the allegations in his report.

Asked if he had seen Fazel’s finding, Hlungwani said he worked in the intelligence space.

“A lot of things come to my attention as one of senior managers in the intelligence space. That is how I will answer it.”

He also claimed that Khumalo did not have the experience in the intelligence senior management, other than one year when he acted as the acting divisional head, Fannie Masemola, now national commissioner, appointed him as acting component head for counter-intelligence.

Hlungwani insisted that Khumalo’s appointment was in contravention of SAPS employment regulations and that there were no exceptional circumstances in his appointment other than favouritism.

mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za

Source link