General Riah Phiyega
Photo by: Duane Daws
The Hawks will not be taking any action against police commissioner General Riah Phiyega for allegedly warning Lieutenant General Arno Lamoer about the investigation into him and that his phone conversations were being tapped.
Speaking outside the Goodwood Magistrate’s Court, where Lamoer and five others had appeared on charges of racketeering and corruption charges, Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said the unit was not investigating Phiyega because she had already been cleared in an Independent Police Investigative Directorate probe.
Lamoer, businessperson Mohamed Saleem Dawjee, his son Mohamed Zameer, police officers Brigadier Kolindren Govender, Brigadier Sharon Govender and Brigadier Darius van der Ross are facing 109 counts.
One of the allegations is that Lamoer accepted “gratifications” totalling R75 524. It is claimed that about 43 payments were made to Lamoer, Van der Ross and the Govenders who received about R1.63-million in total.
Kolindren Govender is also accused of providing Mohamed Saleem Dawjee with bogus documentation, allowing him to purchase ammunition in Parow, Cape Town.
The acting head of the Hawks, Major General Benny Ntlemeza, said he was saddened by the arrests of Lamoer and the other officers, but said his unit would do everything necessary to root out corruption in the country.
“We have a mandate to end corrupt and fraudulent activities in our country and since no one is above the law, we do not look at the stature of the person when we investigate fraud and corruption.
“This should be a lesson to all law enforcers that we should practice what we preach daily and stay clean and corrupt-free.”