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Police raid City of Cape Town office in fraud and corruption probe
No arrests were made during the search and seizure operation.
City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for human settlements Malusi Booi. Picture: Twitter/ @MalusiBooi
The South African Police Service’s (Saps) commercial crimes unit on Wednesday raided the offices of the City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for human settlements, Malusi Booi.
This was confirmed by the City of Cape Town in a statement on Thursday.
Police raid
It’s understood that the raid was part of the police’s investigation into fraud and corruption. During the search and seizure operation, which took place late on Wednesday, police took Booi’s phone, staff members’ devices, and documents.
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However, no arrests were made.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the city was waiting for further information from authorities on the reasons for the raid.
“I have been made aware that the Saps have conducted a search and seizure operation at city offices, including the office of a member of the mayoral committee. This is a matter that I take very seriously indeed.
“At this stage, I am not privy to the reasons for this, and the Saps have not yet briefed me. I have therefore requested the Provincial Commercial Crimes Unit to give me a full briefing on the matter,” Hill-Lewis said in a statement.
Integrity of metro
The mayor said he also made it clear to Booi that he will “act swiftly and decisively should any substantive information emerge that casts a shadow on the integrity of this government”.
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut confirmed to News24 that detectives attached to the Commercial Crimes Unit executed a search warrant at the offices at the Civic Centre.
While Traut could not divulge the details of the operation, he said electronic equipment and documents were confiscated.
In November last year, eight City of Cape Town officials were arrested for alleged involvement in construction tender fraud.
This followed investigations into complaints of fraud and corruption that entail the inflation of invoices, irregular payments to service providers for construction work not undertaken and other illicit activities.
Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe
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