Parliament’s portfolio committee on public service and administration has requested the Public Service Commission (PSC) to probe allegations of impropriety against recently promoted cop Major-General Patrick Mbotho.
Mbotho, who was recently appointed as divisional commissioner responsible for national priority offences in the Hawks, allegedly distributed pornographic content to an official police WhatsApp group in 2017.
When Mbotho allegedly posted the explicit and adult content to a detective commander’s WhatsApp group using his official cellphone, he was head of the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit.
The unit’s primary mandate is to protect women and children.
Mbotho is currently the provincial head of the Hawks in the North West.
Request for an investigation
“The chairperson of the portfolio committee on public service and administration has acceded to a request from the portfolio committee on police to refer the allegations against Major-General Patrick Mbotho from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) to the Public Service Commission for an urgent and in-depth investigation,” said portfolio committee on public service and administration spokesperson Malatswa Molepo.
“As a result, Mr Jan de Villiers, the chairperson of the portfolio committee on public service and administration, has on 30 September 2024 requested the PSC to institute the said investigation.
“The request for the investigation is premised on the need to build a capable state as encapsulated in the National Development Plan and item 8.10 of the statement of intent of the government of national unity, which highlight the importance of integrity, good governance, and accountable leadership.”
De Villiers said: “The decision to refer the matter to the PSC signals the strong intention and commitment of both committees to ensure that the leadership of all state organs are above reproach and have at the centre the need for effective and efficient public service.”
De Villiers said the PSC investigation is warranted by the serious allegations levelled against Mbotho.
“Some of the allegations against him include that he posted various explicit and adult content to a detective commander’s WhatsApp group using his official cellphone.
“There were also allegations that Major-General Mbotho had meetings with individuals currently suspected of gang activity and extortions in the Western Cape.
“Other allegations allege that Major-General Mbotho was involved in interfering in criminal investigations and defeating the ends of justice.”
Negative perception
Portfolio committee on police chairperson Ian Cameron said: “The fact that Major-General Mbotho has had various allegations of impropriety against him might create a negative perception about the SAPS’s willingness to fight crime.
“The investigation was lodged in accordance with Chapter 2 of the PSC rules on conducting investigations established in 2017.
“While the police portfolio committee has previously called for the DPCI leadership to reconsider the appointment, the referral is based primarily on the need to investigate the serious allegations made against Major-General Mbotho.”
Said Molepo: “The committees will wait for a clear outline with timelines from the PCS on the processes it intends to undertake to investigate the matter.”
Last month, Cameron wrote a letter to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to review the appointment and promotion of Mbotho.
Cameron said Mchunu must establish an inquiry into Mbotho’s fitness to hold office due to the impropriety allegations against him.
