Former Mayor, Herman Mashaba and the former JMPD chief of police, David Tembe, have united to open a criminal case against Public Protectors Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s damning draft report against them.
The two former City Of Joburg bosses, in a statement released today, said the leaking of the report was a criminal offence in terms of section 11 of the Public Protectors Act, punishable by a fine of R40 000 or 12 months imprisonment.
“It is clear that this was a coordinated and clumsy political effort, leaked to six media houses on the same day coinciding with the launch of the book – The Accidental Mayor. Our legal team holds the perspective that the draft report contains serious errors in both law and fact. We are in the process of making these representations,” reads the statement.
In the same statement, Mashaba and Tembe threatened to take Mkhwebane’s final report on review and set aside, if she keeps the same findings when she finalized the report.
According to the draft report, as reported by Sunday World, Mashaba was found guilty of having flouted the City of Joburg’s procurement regulations by influencing an MMC for heath and social development, to award an NGO he once led as Director, Field Band Foundation, a R3.5 million grant.
Mashaba was also found to have improperly handpicked and recommended the appointment of his former business partner and his wife, Connie’s business associate to advice the City on the insourcing of security guards.
In the same report, Mkhwebane found that former Joburg Metro Chief of Police, David Tembe, was improperly and irregularly appointed to his position by Mashaba’s administration.
In her report, Mkhwebane said Tembe did not meet the job requirements for the post, as he only possessed a national police diploma, while the post had required a candidate with a bachelors degree.
Mkhwebane said she was shocked that Tembe was appointed to the post despite having been the fifth performing candidate among those interviewed, having been outsmarted by his fellow colleagues, who had acquired number three and four positions.
She also questioned Tembe’s traffic police diploma, stating that it was given to him without writing any assessments.
She said there was no records or documents showing Tembe had acquired the qualification on merit, further stating that he was awarded the certificate few weeks before writing the assessments.
