SAPS guns for ailing Khan

The SAPS has been hauled before the Labour Court over its decision to threaten injured senior crime intelligence officer, Major General Feroz Khan, with unpaid suspension and eventual discharge. This while he remains under treatment for gunshot wounds and serious psychological trauma.

Khan’s union, Popcru, says a disciplinary process that began as an inquiry into allegations dating from 2021 has become a fight over whether Khan can lose his income and employment before he is medically capable of defending himself.

The founding affidavit describes the case as one involving “coercive public power” against Khan, who is receiving medical and psychiatric care.

On August 17, the officer chairing Khan’s disciplinary inquiry invoked Regulation 9(7), which the affidavit says immediately threatened his pay and started a 10-working-day process that could end with him being deemed discharged from the SAPS.

Khan was shot on June 28.

According to medical evidence cited in the founding affidavit, the bullet entered his lower back and lodged close to his spine. He also suffered an injury to his small bowel and bleeding from a lumbar artery, losing about 1.8 litres of blood.

He required significant emergency surgery and remained at Netcare Milpark Hospital until July 17. “The injuries were described as life-threatening,” the affidavit says, adding: “His discharge did not signify recovery.”

Doctors initially said Khan was unlikely to return to work before August 3. Further assessment extended his medically certified incapacity until August 31, with a possible return on September 1.

His psychological condition was also assessed.

The affidavit says Khan was “extremely agitated, anxious and tearful”, depressed, unable to sit for extended periods and suffering some short-term memory deficit. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and severe major depressive disorder.

The effect on his legal preparations, Popcru says, was practical. “Consultations could not be sustained.”

Meetings with Khan had to be interrupted after about “20 to 30 minutes” because of pain and discomfort.

Once medication became necessary, “his ability to concentrate and continue meaningfully diminished”.

The disciplinary case dates back five years.

It concerns the interception of Tariq Downes at OR Tambo International Airport in May 2021 while he was carrying metal suspected to be gold.

The SAPS alleges that Khan abused his authority and furnished false information to officers dealing with Downes, allegedly inducing them not to arrest him.

The allegations include defeating the ends of justice and dishonesty.

Popcru says Khan is not asking for the case to disappear.

“The Applicant does not seek immunity for Major General Khan from discipline,” the affidavit says.

Instead, his representatives sought a limited postponement until his medically certified incapacity expired and he could be reassessed.

But the dispute escalated.

At the disciplinary hearing on August 12, the chair, Major General JB Khumalo, questioned medical documents supplied to support the postponement.

According to the founding affidavit, Khumalo identified what he regarded as discrepancies between signatures and said the documents could be assessed with the “naked eye”.

Khan’s representatives offered to obtain confirmation directly from the doctor.

The chair did not wait.

“These are fraudulent documents,” he said, according to the attached record.

“Specifically, this one is fraudulent.”

He ordered proceedings to continue and required Khan to attend.

The affidavit says trauma surgeon Dr Shumani Makhadi later confirmed under oath that he had written the documents and explained why different forms of his signature appeared.

There was a further complication. Before the hearing, Khan’s lawyers had questioned Khumalo’s appointment as chair, citing his involvement in an earlier disciplinary process against Khan and allegations concerning him that had been raised before the Madlanga commission.

The affidavit says the concerns were not addressed.

Instead, the SAPS replied that proceedings “will therefore proceed as scheduled”.

Four days after the hearing, Regulation 9(7) was invoked.

Popcru says Khan was given no separate opportunity to argue against the sanction before it was imposed.

It describes the consequences as “the immediate loss of his income and a countdown to the automatic termination of his employment”.

That is now the immediate question before the Labour Court. Judgment is pending.

Setumo Stone