Action Society sent an urgent letter to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to request feedback regarding the disciplinary hearing and ongoing investigations into the conduct of the eight members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) VIP Protection Unit involved in the infamous #BlueLightMafia incident more than a year ago.
The case has drawn significant public attention due to the severity of the allegations and the apparent lack of urgency in holding these individuals accountable. Despite the seriousness of the charges and the clear evidence of misconduct, progress on both the internal disciplinary hearing and the criminal court case has been exceptionally slow. The accused officers have employed various delay tactics, further frustrating the process and eroding public trust in our justice system.
“The Blue Light Mafia eight’s disciplinary hearing has been frustrating to say the least. Their tactics in delaying the process border on the ridiculous and surreal, and a complete waste of the South African taxpayer’s money. On 7 August they fired their representative only to re-appoint him 20 minutes later. They then promptly informed the chairperson that he must be given more time to familiarise himself with the case as he is now their ‘new representative’”, explains Juanita du Preez, spokesperson for Action Society.
Action Society appreciates that IPID with its particular constitutional and legislative mandate has little to no influence over the protracted nature of both the disciplinary hearing and the criminal proceedings. “However, IPID does have control over its own investigation into the conduct of these SAPS members. We therefore urgently request detailed feedback regarding IPID’s investigation into the conduct of the VIP Protection Unit members involved in this case. Specifically, we seek to understand the current status of IPID’s probe, including any findings that have been made and the steps IPID intends to take against these officers.”
“We wish to remind IPID that their mandate is to investigate police misconduct independently and that it is not necessary to wait for the conclusion of either the internal disciplinary hearing or the criminal court case to take decisive action. IPID has an obligation to act against perpetrators, particularly when there is clear evidence of wrongdoing, as in this case. The South African public is looking to IPID to ensure that justice is served without unnecessary delay.”
Action Society has called for their immediate suspension of these eight officers. We find it very shocking that these brazenly violent cops are still on the payroll with SAPS and we demand that they are removed from their positions with immediate effect and stripped of their ranks.
Earlier, we sent a letter to the newly appointed minister of police where we discussed this very matter with utmost gravity. We implored minister Mchunu to redirect funds away from these VIP protection units and disband them completely in their current form; they are a complete waste of taxpayer money and are only a method of intimidating civilians and they are allowed to carry out violence with complete impunity. However, in a very disappointing turn of events, the minister reported that he would be allocating R2bn to his protection unit, which, we fear, will only worsen the problem.
In the same letter we suggested that IPID be decentralised which we believe will go a long way in combating corruption, incompetence and brutality within the police.
“For IPID to be a genuinely independent institution as an effective watchdog over the police, it should also be a Chapter 9 Institution. Without that type of authority, IPID is more of a bouncer than a watchdog. We do, however, hope that the increased parliamentary oversight will bring a measure of independence and that our elected parliamentarians will act responsibly in their role as watchdog over the watchdog,” said du Preez
In our letter we also suggested the following solutions:
- Establishment of an Independent Anti-Corruption Unit within the SAPS to investigate and prosecute corrupt activities within SAPS, ensuring accountability at all levels.
- Strengthening Internal Oversight Mechanisms by implementing rigorous internal audit and compliance processes to detect and prevent corruption.
- Enhanced Whistleblower Protection to encourage transparency by protecting those who report corrupt practices from retaliation.
- Regular Public Reporting by instituting regular public disclosures of corruption cases and the measures taken to address them to rebuild public trust.
Nonetheless we will continue to put pressure on the police until we see these pressing issues resolved or addressed in a satisfactory way.
