SUSPENDED Independent Police Investigative
Directorate (Ipid) boss Robert McBride, former Hawks boss Anwa Dramat
and former South African Revenue Service (SARS) deputy commissioner Ivan
Pillay have come out fighting, detailing the modus operandi of those in
the government seeking to subvert the fight against corruption through
media leaks and spurious investigations, which had resulted in their
suspension and removal from their positions.
In a statement on Tuesday, after a hearing of McBride's case in the Constitutional Court, the three referred to a "remarkable coincidence" in the methods used to remove officials from their positions. They also highlighted that a key part of all of their mandates was to investigate corruption.
McBride was suspended in March 2015 on allegations that he had covered up alleged involvement by senior Hawks officials in the unlawful renditions of four Zimbabweans. However, McBride denied the claims against him and challenged his suspension. He said the Constitution did not allow Police Minister Nathi Nhleko to suspend or discipline him unilaterally without affording Parliament any role in this process.
Speaking to reporters after judgment was reserved‚ McBride said he, along with Dramat and Pillay aimed to defend institutions of state and to defend them from political interference
" In reviewing our individual experiences over recent weeks, we have discovered a convergence in the cases that we were working on. A common thread is that cases under investigation involved individuals or entities with questionable relationships to those in public office. Most of these cases involved state tenders of some kind that were awarded due to patronage with influential individuals in public office," it was noted in the statement.
The three highlighted their common experiences, particularly with regard to their removal from office.
"The manner in which officials were removed has followed a similar pattern. Internal documents or ‘allegations’ from within institutions are leaked to select journalists. Working in tandem with ‘anonymous’ sources, facts are distorted in the media.
"It is unclear how the leaks happen, but they do not originate from the accused. After the information is leaked, the institution in question then launches an ‘investigation’ into the accused officials, using news reports as pretext. The results of these ‘investigations’ are then leaked to the same journalists again."
During these investigations, officials are removed from office through suspensions and are further "prevented from defending themselves publicly".
"Later, based on the same allegations that preceded the settlement, officials are then criminally charged. It appears from this pattern that the intent is to hound officials out of institutions and destroy their credibility publicly," the three noted in the statement.
This also related to the allegations against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, who is under siege over his role in the setting up of an investigative unit with an intelligence capability at SARS. The Hawks are currently probing the "rogue unit" and recent reports suggested that he was to be arrested soon.
The three former public servants said they had succeeded when they fought against these spurious attempts to remove them in court and they would continue to fight to curb the "harassment and intimidation" against them by the state.
Their statement comes hot on the heels of another statement in which about 45 former directors-general have written to Gordhan and Public Service and Administration Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi, asking them to institute a public inquiry into how senior government officials contravened laws to benefit the Gupta family.
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| Anwar Dramat. Picture: TREVOR SAMSON |
In a statement on Tuesday, after a hearing of McBride's case in the Constitutional Court, the three referred to a "remarkable coincidence" in the methods used to remove officials from their positions. They also highlighted that a key part of all of their mandates was to investigate corruption.
McBride was suspended in March 2015 on allegations that he had covered up alleged involvement by senior Hawks officials in the unlawful renditions of four Zimbabweans. However, McBride denied the claims against him and challenged his suspension. He said the Constitution did not allow Police Minister Nathi Nhleko to suspend or discipline him unilaterally without affording Parliament any role in this process.
Speaking to reporters after judgment was reserved‚ McBride said he, along with Dramat and Pillay aimed to defend institutions of state and to defend them from political interference
" In reviewing our individual experiences over recent weeks, we have discovered a convergence in the cases that we were working on. A common thread is that cases under investigation involved individuals or entities with questionable relationships to those in public office. Most of these cases involved state tenders of some kind that were awarded due to patronage with influential individuals in public office," it was noted in the statement.
The three highlighted their common experiences, particularly with regard to their removal from office.
"The manner in which officials were removed has followed a similar pattern. Internal documents or ‘allegations’ from within institutions are leaked to select journalists. Working in tandem with ‘anonymous’ sources, facts are distorted in the media.
"It is unclear how the leaks happen, but they do not originate from the accused. After the information is leaked, the institution in question then launches an ‘investigation’ into the accused officials, using news reports as pretext. The results of these ‘investigations’ are then leaked to the same journalists again."
During these investigations, officials are removed from office through suspensions and are further "prevented from defending themselves publicly".
"Later, based on the same allegations that preceded the settlement, officials are then criminally charged. It appears from this pattern that the intent is to hound officials out of institutions and destroy their credibility publicly," the three noted in the statement.
This also related to the allegations against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, who is under siege over his role in the setting up of an investigative unit with an intelligence capability at SARS. The Hawks are currently probing the "rogue unit" and recent reports suggested that he was to be arrested soon.
The three former public servants said they had succeeded when they fought against these spurious attempts to remove them in court and they would continue to fight to curb the "harassment and intimidation" against them by the state.
Their statement comes hot on the heels of another statement in which about 45 former directors-general have written to Gordhan and Public Service and Administration Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi, asking them to institute a public inquiry into how senior government officials contravened laws to benefit the Gupta family.
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