Crime Intelligence head allowed to return to work

Crime Intelligence head General Dumisani Khumalo has been cleared to return to the police unit’s offices after his bail conditions were relaxed.

This comes after his arrest and subsequent court hearings, where he faced fraud and corruption charges.

On Friday, the Pretoria High Court permitted Khumalo to return to Crime Intelligence’s offices, something he was prohibited from doing due to his bail conditions.

Khumalo was temporarily removed from the position after he was arrested at the end of June for allegedly being involved in corrupt activities within the department.

The Crime Intelligence head and six other high-ranking officials were arrested for allegedly appointing a civilian without the necessary training or knowledge of policing.

These included the Crime Intelligence CFO, the head of the unit’s vetting, the head of Gauteng Crime Intelligence, and three other officers.

The six, as well as the appointed officer in question, appeared before the Pretoria Regional Court in August on charges of fraud and corruption.

In mid-August, Khumalo claimed that an internal SAPS investigation had cleared him of wrongdoing, allowing him to return to work and fulfil his duties.

Then, in November, it was reported that the Crime Intelligence head was reinstated to his position. However, he was not yet allowed to return to his offices.

As part of his testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged that Khumalo’s arrest was meant to disrupt investigations into criminal syndicates in Gauteng.

President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry to investigate the alleged capture of South Africa’s criminal justice system, highlighted by Mkhwanazi, just days after Khumalo’s arrest.

A central part of Mkhwanazi’s allegations was that suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu improperly disbanded the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT). Khumalo was the Project Leader of the PKTT.

Khumalo also appeared before the Commission, seconding Mkhwanazi’s allegations and detailing how the “Big Five Cartel” had infiltrated the political and criminal justice spheres.

During his testimony, he provided evidence in the form of WhatsApp logs from murder-accused tenderpreneur Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala’s cell phone that allegedly show collusion between cartel members and senior police officials.

However, he said that he would not be able to reveal more evidence as this would compromise intelligence sources and ongoing investigations.