LIVE FEED: State Capture Inquiry September 18, 2019

Hawks official Colonel Kobus Roelofse is testifying at the Zondo commission. Picture: African News Agency (ANA)

Hawks official Colonel Kobus Roelofse is testifying at the Zondo commission. Picture: African News Agency (ANA)

Published Sep 18, 2019

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Johannesburg - Hawks official Colonel Kobus Roelofse will continue with his testimony at the Zondo commission on Wednesday morning. 

On Tuesday, Roelofse told the commission about the looting of the crime intelligence secret account by crime intelligence officials. 

The account is used mainly for the provision of funds for CI agents to purchase assets and conduct investigations related to their work. It is not meant for private purposes. 

He detailed how while he was investigating former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli for his involvement in the murder and kidnapping which took place in Vosloorus he was approached by a number of CI officials who wanted to report the abuse of the secret service account. 

The Hawks official interviewed the individuals and obtained statements from them. It was the revelations by a Colonel Dhanajaya Naidoo, who admitted to his alleged fraud in the illegal transactions, which assisted him in his investigation. 

Naidoo was later threatened and had to be placed under witness protection as he had faced threats from some of his CI colleagues. 

Roelofse decided to investigate the matter and found that while they searching Mdluli’s house in 2011 two vehicles were found in his house. He said the vehicles were purchased using CI secret service funds. 

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He pointed to a Colonel Hein Barnard as the one who purchased the vehicles using a company called “company x”. The name of the company as been withheld by the commission. 

Criminal charges of fraud and corruption were brought against Barnard and Mdluli. The charges were later withdrawn by NPA official Lawrence Mrwebi. 

In another instance, secret service funds were used to fund the travel of Mdluli and for his wife and children to fly from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Roelofse said Naidoo had admitted to this. He said this was unusual and that secret service funds cannot be used for private travel and if it was official business then it would have to be done through SAPS’ open account. 

Former crime intelligence official Solly Lazarus, who was in charge of finances of the crime intelligence secret service account, had signed off on most of these transactions. 

The chairperson of the commission deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo ruled on Tuesday that no information that would expose Naidoo's witness protection should be revealed for his protection.

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