To self serve and neglect

Surprising no one, SAPS is in the headlines again for the wrong reasons [View this email in your browser]( February 9, 2020 [Mail & Guardian]( [Mail & Guardian]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( Hi there, Richard Mdluli has long been triumphant in the fight against his past. Despite carrying the inherent ignominy that comes with being an apartheid cop, he rose to the top of the South African Police Service (SAPS) crime intelligence ranks. It was an ascent that also leapfrogged his implication in the murder in 1999 of Oupa Ramogibe – his former lover’s partner. Mdluli may have thought he had slayed the tendrils of his personal history. It took 20 years – during which Mdluli was reported to have drawn a cumulative salary of R8.3-million during his seven-year suspension — before he was relieved of his position in 2018 by the then Minister of Police, Fikile Mbalula. Mdluli was subsequently sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, but only on charges of assault and kidnapping. The murder charge somehow fell by the wayside. Although he is one of the few people with the dubious honour of having successfully beaten a murder rap by waiting it out, he must now answer to a R69-million fraud and corruption case against him – allegations he severely abused his authority for his personal gain. So far he is yet to arrive in the Pretoria commercial crimes court to answer the charges. An unknown illness, which only the magistrate is privy to, kept him out once more on Monday. Yet his absence has [not deterred the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) from forging ahead](. Khaya Koko reports that the NPA was happy with the speed of the case, and that the state was ready to prosecute Mdluli and his co-accused – former crime intelligence manager Heine Barnard, and former senior officer Solomon Lazarus – for the combined 19 charges against them. Mdluli, who is serving time, has twice pleaded illness and not shown up to court. He and his co-accused are set to appear again, in person, on 4 March. In another case involving the police, the state is after an alleged family-run syndicate that has bilked the SAPS of R100-million with the alleged assistance of 23 “captured” senior officers and 26 “fraudulent” companies. NPA investigative reports place 28-year-old Kishane Chetty and his father, Krishna Chetty, 64, as the heads of an alleged syndicate. The state alleges that the father-and-son duo secured more than 50 fraudulent contracts with the national SAPS, from April 2016 to July 2020. In total, there are 71 accused: 45 people and 26 companies. Despite the widespread policing reforms since 1994, many challenges exist in relation to police legitimacy in present-day South Africa. The use of excessive and lethal force, mounting issues of police corruption, lingering concerns over fair and equal treatment, as well as the perception of police incompetence in the face of high crime rates, further complicate the picture. The capacity of the SAPS to perform its duties is undermined by negative public sentiment. A [number of recent studies have raised concern]( about the fairness with which the police treat ordinary South Africans and the resultant antipathy towards law enforcement. Mdluli and the cops linked to the Chettys are just two cases that speak volumes about how little effect the laws of this land, or the police themselves, have had in upholding and enforcing the law. When we look at criminality in South Africa, an often overlooked reason why crime is so rampant is how our law enforcement officers are perceived as the personification of dereliction of duty. Without a marked respect — not fear — of the police or law enforcement agencies that inspire confidence, it is unlikely that public attitudes will change. Until tomorrow Kiri Rupiah & Luke Feltham [Subscribe now]( Enjoy The Ampersand? Share it with your friends [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( [Share]( [Share]( Copyright © 2021 Mail & Guardian Media LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive communications from the Mail & Guardian either at our website or by taking out a print subscription. Our mailing address is: Mail & Guardian Media LTD 25 Owl St BraamfonteinJohannesburg, Gauteng 2001 South Africa [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences or unsubscribe here.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Mail & Guardian Media LTD · 25 Owl St · Braamfontein · Johannesburg, Gauteng 2001 · South Africa