All eyes are on provincial police commissioner, Lt. Gen. Liziwe Ntshinga, who will be making the final decision on whether or not to dismiss three top police officials in Nelson Mandela Bay by Friday.
The officials, Humewood station commander, Brig. Leonie Bentley, Gelvandale station commander, Brig. Lawrence Soekoe and deputy district commissioner for visible policing, Brig. Ronald Koll, were found guilty of insubordination after disciplinary hearings, following an incident where they allegedly walked out of a meeting without permission late last year.
In this meeting, they raised objection to the appointment of Brig. Thandiswa Kupiso as Mount Road cluster commander.
According to DA MPL and member of the Safety and Security Portfolio Committee, Marshall von Buchenroder, the objection was raised because the appointment of Kupiso went directly against a court order granted in relation to a matter brought by the two leading police unions, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) and the SA Police Union (Sapu).
He added that after the meeting got heated, Bentley, Soekoe and Koll asked to be excused. Evidence, including minutes from the meeting and a recording, show that permission was given, but they were still found guilty of insubordination for allegedly walking out without permission.
According to Von Buchenroder, the whole situation seems that it could be racially motivated to open the top leadership structures to favouritism.
“The DA notes that statements were given by six senior officers who have aligned themselves with Kupiso, contrary to the minutes and the recording.
“Questions need to be asked as to why the Independent Police Investigative Directorate refused to investigate a docket that was opened against these officers who have allegedly perjured themselves, despite IPID having been approached at their offices in East London with all the necessary evidence.
“In the interim, Kupiso, who is the most junior ranking Brigadier, behind these three officers, has also since been named acting Nelson Mandela Bay district commissioner,” he said.
“Collectively, these three members have more than 100 years of police experience between them and Nelson Mandela Bay can ill afford to lose highly experienced officers of their calibre,” he added.
Provincial police spokesperson, Brig. Tembinkosi Kinana, said that the matter remains an internal issue between the employer and the employees concerned.
“We therefore believe that it should be treated as such. The provincial commissioner’s office has not received any information in relation to the matter and for this particular reason it is not possible to give a comment thereon at this stage,” he said.
