Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya have once again given a stern warning to criminals, extortionists and those cited by the state capture report that their days of crippling the country are numbered.
The minister and the National Head for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) briefed the media on their success in effecting a successful conviction and sentence of former Prasa employee Daniel Mthimkhulu, who for years misrepresented his qualifications and claimed an undue salary and other benefits through fraudulent qualifications.
Mthimkhulu was last week sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty on charges of forgery, fraud and uttering by the Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court.
The briefing came a day after the police deployed in the Eastern Cape carried out an operation that resulted in the the killing of three alleged extortionists and the serious injury of a police officer in Mthatha on Wednesday.
One of the three killed was controversial Mthatha West traditional leader Nkosi Dalinzolo Mareke, 42, who, according to the police, was a known ringleader in extortion crimes in the area.
Mchunu said: “We wish a speedy and quick recovery to the police officer who was injured during this incident and as for the extortion crime syndicates, we have deployed resources and police who are doing a great job in bringing extortionist crimes under control in the area.”
The minister thanked the Hawks for their diligent work in bringing the matter to a successful conviction.
“The issue of Mthimkhulu is an important one. Our country can only survive on the rule of law. Lawlessness has no place in our society as crime in any form is a direct threat to the stability and prosperity of the country. Crime and criminal behaviour undermine and erode public trust and endanger livelihoods,” he said.
Mchunu said Mthimkhulu’s behaviour put the integrity of Prasa at risk, which could never be condoned.
He warned others on the list, including those who have been cited by the state capture report as well as extortion syndicates, that they were in the crosshairs of the police and other law enforcement agencies.
“Extortion and other similar crimes must be dealt with accordingly and without any interventions. It can’t be that when people are thirsty or are are unemployed, they commit crime as the majority of South Africans are law-abiding citizens who even without an income continue to look for legal ways of earning an income.There’s no justification for it. Our country cannot fail because people want to have a braai,“ Mchunu said.
Lebeya says the AFU of the Hawks and that of the NPA continued to prosecute and seize assets belonging to people involved in state capture, citing the extradition of former Free State premier Ace Magashule’s assistant, Moroadi Cholota, who was last month brought back to the country for the asbestos case.
“We do not discriminate. We do it without fear or favour. Even a senior member of the police is being remanded in custody,” Lebeya said.
“On the recovery of state capture assets, we have already confiscated more than 400 million and the AFU is hard at work alongside the NPA AFU as they are working closely with that of the Hawks.
“On the pace of prosecutions, I have indicated on state capture that we have arrested more than 30 and you shall recall the state capture recommendations were taken to the NPA AFU.”
The Star