Madlanga says the operation failed as a direct consequence of Mashala's conduct, a claim Mashala denies.
Picture: Jacques Nelles
Madlanga Commission chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga has slammed Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) officer Phuti Mashala for a rookie mistake in handling a R1.5 million robbery case.
On Friday, the commission shifted its investigation to the conduct of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officers.
In August 2023, Mashala and his colleague, Captain N.J Tauatswala, investigated a R1.5 million robbery involving JMPD officer Eric Mphahlele.
On 12 August 2023, Tauatswala informed Mashala that businessman Nawazish Ali Raja had opened a case against Mphahlele.
He alleged that Mphahlele, who was driving a marked JMPD Golf, pulled him over on the day when he was with his wife in a grey Mercedes-Benz.
Mphahlele then asked Raja if he had a firearm, which he denied. The officer accused Raja of speeding, which he denied. The officer then asked Raja to hand over his driving licence, which he did. He then asked to search the vehicle for firearms, and Raja agreed.
According to Raja, the officer did not find anything in the boot, then opened the rear passenger door behind the driver’s seat and found a big black bag. Raja told the officer the bag contained money to buy the stock and gave the officer permission to open it.
The officer opened the bag and saw the money, which Raja said was R1.5 million, which he was going to use to buy stock. According to Raja, the officer remarked that he and his wife were involved in money laundering. Raja denied the money-laundering allegation and said he had proof of the source of the funds in the bag.
Enters Mphahlele’s supervisor
During this time, Raja told the police that he heard the officer talking on the phone with a woman, telling her he had found the money and that they would take it to the police station.
Investigations later identified the woman as Inspector Immaculate ‘Emma’ Phakoane, who was Mphahlele’s supervisor.
“They communicated over the phone before the incident. During the incident, while he [Raja] was stopped, he [Mphahlele] communicated with Emma again. At that time, while I was the investigating officer, I felt that Emma was directly involved because over the phone, she could give the directive to the officer, Eric Mphahlele, in the very same car that was used. The police officer wanted to arrest Raja for money laundering and handcuff him but did not do so,” testified Mashala.
JMPD robbery
The JMPD officer then took the plastic bag and told Raja to follow him to the Booysens Police Station.
“Mr Raja stated that as they approached a stop sign on Booysen Road, the officer pulled alongside Mr Raja’s vehicle and told Mr Raja that they were going to Johannesburg Central Police Station to take his statement.”
The JMPD vehicle then drove in the yellow lane as the traffic was congested; however, this is when Raja lost sight of the vehicle.
On 18 August 2023, during an identity parade held at Hillbrow Police Station, Raja and his wife positively identified Mphahlele as the officer who pulled them over and stole the money.
Bribery of Hawks officers
During the investigation, Madlanga slammed the Hawks’ approach, saying it made it easy for Mphahlele to hide the money.
The first mistake was calling Mphahlele to let him know he was a wanted man in connection with the robbery. The second mistake was committed when Mashala exposed his own operation.
On 14 August, Mashala and Tauatswala met with Mphahlele at a Sasol garage, where they were to interview Mphahlele. The JMPD officer offered a R250 000 bribe to the investigation officers to make the docket disappear.
The two Hawks investigators were then introduced to JMPD officer Tintswalo Rikhotso and Hawks captain Matimu Mabunda. They facilitated the payment of the bribe, as Mphahlele had been remanded following his court appearance. Rikhotso was a colleague of Mphahlele, and she brought in Mabunda to facilitate the payment of the bribe because she felt she could not trust the Hawks officers.
Hawks operation exposed
Mashala and Tauatswala applied to the Hawks to conduct the investigation as a Section 252A entrapment operation. This means the Hawks officers would play along with the bribery payment to catch the suspects in the act.
However, on the day the Hawks officers were meant to receive their payment from Mabunda, they informed her that they were conducting an entrapment operation and that the moment she handed over that money, they would arrest her.
Mphahlele was later convicted of bribery, while Rikhotso, Mabunda and Phakoane remain in their posts.
‘It just doesn’t make sense’
However, this conduct left the commissioners confused.
“You were aware right from the start that they were acting improperly. And she was as much a part of this as Inspector Rikhotso. So why do you tell her about the entrapment?” asked Madlanga.
“As I’m saying, commissioners, it might be where we lost it wrong; we got it wrong there. It might be where we made a mistake in telling her,” responded Mashala, adding that they had been under the impression that she shared their understanding.
“That’s a very glaring mistake by Hawks detectives,” Madlanga said. “You are supposed to be a specialised branch of the police, aren’t you? I would even say you are supposed to be super detectives, aren’t you? You are defeating the very purpose of what you sought to achieve. It just doesn’t make sense at all to me. Does it make sense to you?
He continued: “All of this ends up being totally inconclusive. And in my book, I would say you were responsible for that. That is the fact that this seems to have come to nought. You were responsible for that partly, if not particularly, by letting one of the people who were involved with Officer Mphahlele in seeking to have a bribe paid for the docket to disappear. You were seriously responsible for that.”
Although Mashala conceded his conduct was a mistake, he, however, did not admit that the Hawks operation failed as a direct consequence of his actions. This is because Mabunda would have alerted the other suspects about the operation.
“It didn’t go the way it was planned because of the blatant error that the two of you made,” said Madlanga.
