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Ex-top cop Phahlane wants charges in R84 million tender fraud case dropped

General Khomotso Phahlane’s fate in an R84 million tender fraud case is expected to be decided today, following the former top cop’s assertion that his arrest was unlawful.

BDK Attorneys, which represents the former national police commissioner, wrote a letter to Shamila Batohi, the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), demanding that charges against Phahlane be dropped in a “blue lights” tender scandal which the State alleged was fraught with fraud and corruption.

In the submissions to Batohi, which The Star has seen, BDK’s Piet du Plessis contends that an affidavit used to acquire Phahlane’s warrant of arrest, which was written by Warrant Officer Temane Binang - the investigating officer from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) - did not implicate his client at all.

Du Plessis said that after reading Binang’s affidavit, “it is clear that his statement bears no reference or relevance to our client at all and does not contain any allegations on the basis of which it could be established that our client made himself guilty of the crimes of corruption and fraud as alleged in the warrant of arrest”.

The Star has seen the affidavit, dated February 27, 2019. NPA spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke confirmed that Batohi had received the submissions and was considering Phahlane’s demands. Ipid spokesperson Moses Dlamini said the police watchdog had followed proper procedure in Phahlane’s arrest.

Phahlane, former Gauteng top cop Deliwe de Lange and four other senior officers at provincial and national level are accused of accepting a fraudulent tax clearance certificate during the bidding process to install, among other things, blue lights, sirens and radio equipment in Gauteng police vehicles.

Accused number one is Vimpie Manthata, who owns Instrumentation Traffic Law Enforcement - the company alleged to have fraudulently benefited to the tune of R84m. Du Plessis said that, according to Binang’s statement, during the period under investigation - July 2016 to May 2018 - Phahlane was on suspension for large parts of it, after he was removed in June 2017.

Phahlane’s lawyers undertook to approach the high Ccourt to set aside the prosecution if the NPA forged ahead with it. Du Plessis claims the NPA falsely convinced a magistrate to issue the warrant of arrest based on an affidavit which, he said, did not explain what wrongdoing Phahlane allegedly did.

“We are all in grave peril if this is what happens in our criminal justice system behind closed doors,” he said.

Source: www.iol.co.za

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Ex-top cop Phahlane wants charges in R84 million tender fraud case dropped

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