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WATCH: Siphesihle Nkosi appointed as the new deputy head of Hawks
The Hawks said corruption continues to surface as one of the biggest threats posed by criminals in the country.
Photo for illustration: The Citizen/Jacques Nelles
Lieutenant General Siphesihle Nkosi has been appointed as the new deputy head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), widely known as the Hawks crime fighting unit.
The announcement was made on Tuesday by DPCI head Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya and his management team.
They were briefing the media on the milestones achieved since the previous quarter (2nd Quarter 2022/2023).
New appointments
Lebeya said Nkosi was appointed on the 1st of November.
“Lieutenant General Nkosi, seven Senior managers and 244 members ranging from junior level to middle management have been recently appointed as part of our continuous quest to fully capacitate the directorate or the “Hawks”.
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“We shall be appointing further five senior managers by 1 December 2022, and further three by 1 January 2023. Should additional 10 designate appointees successfully negotiate their Top Secret Security Clearance certificates, we will announce their appointments immediately,” Lebeya said.
Arrests
Lebeya said the Hawks arrested at least 827 suspects that were successfully brought before the various courts across the country.
“During the same period, 217 accused persons were convicted and sentenced which earned them a title of being a criminal. The majority of arrests emanate from Serious Organised Crime Investigation with a total of 524 arrests.”
Serious corruption
Lebeya said corruption continues to surface as one of the biggest threats posed by criminals in the country.
“It facilitate illicit financial funds which triggered our response to focus on money laundering charges initiated through criminal investigations. Corruption cases are a special breed, in that they are committed in secret by consenting parties, which requires a lot of digging to unearth such cases.”
Cases
Lebeya highlighted fifity cases the Hawks investigated, including that of the Winnie Madikizela Museum project.
“Between January 2008 and December 2010, the funds that were set aside by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture for the Brandfort Museum project, popularly known as the Winnie Mandela Museum, were allegedly stolen in the hands of the department and Lejweleputswa District Municipality.”
He said service providers were reportedly appointed without following proper procurement processes.
“As a result of these irregular activities, the department lost more than R700 000.”
Lebeya said following an intensive investigation by the Hawks in the Free State, six people were arrested on 20 September 2022.
The accused are charged with fraud, theft and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act. The case is postponed to 7 December 2022, at Welkom Magistrates’ Court.
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