RECORD spoke to an Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) officer who wanted to weigh in on an article relating to criminals within the department recently.
On October 11, RECORD published an article highlighting the fact that many EMPD officers who had been convicted of a variety of crimes, including murder, had not been suspended and even continued performing their duties in spite of their convictions.
READ: Ekurhuleni protects criminals
The officer, who would like to remain anonymous, said there is a culture of corruption within the force and that being well connected means you can get away with anything, but don’t toe the line and it’s trouble for you.
“It’s a fact what you have reported and they won’t respond. There are 16 EMPD officers working at the airport who were unfairly suspended on September 21 because they challenged unreasonable, unprocedural and unlawful instruction that is not council policy (deployment or transfer policy),” said the officer.
“Then you have another officer I know who used to guard a mayor. He was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison for murder and he was not subjected to suspension or disciplinary hearing until he started his prison term,” he added.
According to the man, the chief of police is operating outside the council policies and practising gross nepotism in the department.
“I was doing an internal investigation of fraud and theft in Alberton stores, but after submitting my investigation report, I was told I am being transferred and was not given any reasons. I lodged a dispute about the transfer and thereafter I was suspended.
“EMPD is being led by mafias and incompetent management and there is no way that it will ever come right, because when the people who are supposed to enforce the law are the criminals themselves, and they don’t get punished and there is no accountability, it’s obviously a lost cause,” he said.
“The chief of police has withdrawn the service of four officers and two motor vehicles from their functions of servicing communities to drive him around for his duties, and I believe his employment conditions do not afford him VIP protection and use of council motor vehicles.
“There are more than 10 senior management funded vacant posts and those posts are not filled because their friends or favourites are given the opportunity to act without even following council policy.
“You find that a junior is acting two or three levels from his or her position and a senior to the junior is not acting.
READ: Man accuses the EMPD of corruption
“There is no rule of law in the EMPD and council policies are disregarded, for example the Freeway Unit that sometimes works outside the boundaries of Ekurhuleni without the approval of the council or resolutions,” continued the officer.
RECORD contacted the EMPD and Izak Berg, the oversight community safety chairperson for the City of Ekurhuleni, for comment.
Berg had this to say: “I normally don’t act on anonymous letters, but reading through the lines it is obvious that Mr Anonymous doesn’t like discipline. The new chief of police is very strict on discipline and if you don’t like it you will not last.
“Most of Mr Anonymous’ claims are allegations. However, on the OR Tambo issue, the minister issued a statement that everybody needs to be replaced at the airport, which we adhered to. When these members do not want to leave and be redeployed, one needs to ask why. One can’t run an EMPD where there is no discipline or when you want to work where you want to work.
“The minister did not ask us to replace the members at the airport, he instructed us. For the rest, ask him/her to bring the proof (he/she does not know much about council policies).
Revo Spies, acting deputy chief of police, added: “Council’s macro structure has only been approved during the August 2017 council meeting and a complete migration of existing staff must first be completed before any vacant post can be advertised and filled, because only after migration would council know if a post is genuinely vacant as migration is a close match of job descriptions.
“All EMPD employees must be vetted in terms of their employment conditions and if found non-compliant an incapacity process in terms of the Labour Relations Act must be followed. No employee can be suspended without pay as it is illegal in terms of their appointment conditions, and in terms of the LRA it is also not procedurally legal to suspend if you could have rather redeployed the employee. There are very narrow prescripts wherein you may actually suspend an employee. It is normally if an employee can interfere with the investigation or tamper with the evidence.
“The employee that was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment appealed his matter and the moment you lodge an appeal the sanction is halted and not implemented. Only once the outcome of the appeal is known may you proceed and use the actual ruling. The employee was dismissed.
“No police organisation can tolerate gross insubordination at all.
Also Read: EMPD confiscates R1-m worth of alcohol
“The Freeway Patrol also assists Gauteng Community Safety, the South African Police Service, JMPD and TMPD with escorts and other duties as may from time to time be delegated to them from NatJoc, ProvJoc or other policing structures.
“This is therefore a baseless complaint and actually just an indication of the level of knowledge and level of discipline the complainant has,” Spies said.
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