Brigadier Dineo Mokwele has hit back at the state’s fraud case against her, saying the allegations were stemming from people who could not read “plain English” and “sour grapes from grumpy people” who failed to get the crime intelligence post she was appointed to.
Mokwele, who is accused alongside Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo and five others, has asked the National Director of Public Prosecutions to reconsider the decision to prosecute her.
The case relates to her appointment as section head: technical services unit in crime intelligence.
The state alleges that Mokwele and her co-accused misrepresented her application and CV by saying they were true and correct, that she met the requirements of the post, had the “appropriate managerial experience” and suited the position.
The state further alleges that the panel’s recommendation was biased, her assessment unfair and she benefited through salaries the SAPS paid after her appointment.
But Mokwele, through Ndebele Attorneys, says the fraud case rests on an incorrect reading of her application.
“Our client never stated in the application form or the CV or elsewhere in her application … that she was or held the position of manager.” Her lawyers also say she disclosed her career progression, submitted her academic certificates and listed training in project management and quality management systems.
Mokwele says she was a fastening specialist at BMW where she managed workshops and teams and that the core functions of the SAPS post were therefore within her capabilities.
“Importantly, in the application form she detailed her managerial experience. She stated in no ambiguous terms that she was a fastening specialist. Thereafter, she detailed her functions and why she regarded them to be managerial,” the lawyers say.
“She did not state she was a manager. It is plainly wrong to suggest she misrepresented her functions and experience.”
The lawyers say that if the SAPS was unsure about any aspect of her application, it could have disqualified her, asked for clarity or checked with BMW.
They say Mokwele applied for the post with no intention to misrepresent anything and believed she met the requirements.
Her legal team attacks those who gave statements against her. “Our client stands by her application. She cannot be responsible for people’s inability to properly read plain English.”
“All you have is a significant number of people who take comfort in having a salary and boast about their years in the SAPS irrespective of their competence.”
The lawyers say some of the people wrote statements complaining that Mokwele was young and should not have been appointed at the brigadier level. “All of it is sour grapes from grumpy people who did not get appointed.”
The representations say 72 applications were received for the post from internal SAPS members and external applicants. The post had been re-advertised, which Mokwele’s lawyers say showed there was no suitable internal candidate or that internal applicants had either failed or had not applied.
Nobody had truthfully shown that she could not perform her job. “Even those who are critical cannot point to one legitimate thing which suggests our client cannot do her job. Her seniors have not complained about our client.”
- Brigadier Dineo Mokwele has hit back at the state’s fraud case against her, saying the allegations were stemming from people who could not read “plain English” and “sour grapes from grumpy people” who failed to get the crime intelligence post she was appointed to.
- Mokwele, who is accused alongside Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo and five others, has asked the National Director of Public Prosecutions to reconsider the decision to prosecute her.
- The case relates to her appointment as section head: technical services unit in crime intelligence.
- The state alleges that Mokwele and her co-accused misrepresented her application and CV by saying they were true and correct, that she met the requirements of the post, had the “appropriate managerial experience” and suited the position.
- The state further alleges that the panel’s recommendation was biased, her assessment unfair and she benefited through salaries the SAPS paid after her appointment.
