Deputy Minister of Police Shela Paulina Boshielo said suspended Deputy National Commissioner responsible for crime detection Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya sent her a WhatsApp message about spy equipment, allegedly worth R30-million.
She testified before the parliamentary ad hoc committee investigating the allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police boss Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that she understood this to be a warning that she might be bugged.
“The comments that DNC Sibiya wrote was, the first one, the DM should take note of the above and exercise vigilance with any type of electronic communications such as cellphones, emails etc. So, it was like they are buying this equipment to bug me.
“[In] the second one he said Mr Mathebula has been briefed in terms of ANC leadership. Mr Mathebula is the head of security of the African National Congress; both WhatsApps were forwarded; not necessarily from him [as the source],” said Boshielo.
In the next message, Sibiya suggested they commit [National Police Commissioner Fannie] Masemola to the information shared to reveal whether he knows about the matter or not.
She was later informed that both the Minister of Police placed on special leave of absence Senzo Mchunu and National Commissioner Masemola had not approved the purchase of the spyware.
The other side of the story
Boshielo said she did not respond to the forwarded messages received from Sibiya but also in turn forwarded them to Masemola on the same day for confirmation of details.
However, Masemola investigated the matter, said it was not true, and informed her that it has been dealt with.
The Deputy Minister told the committee she did not understand why Sibiya had sent her the messages but never imagined that Masemola and his team would want to bug her, saying they always had a good working relationship.
“Just for the record I never discussed these messages with DNC Sibiya; I just forwarded them to the national commissioner and got comment from the national commissioner.
Mchunu’s directives
Speaking on the issues leading to the inquiry, Boshielo also confirmed that she first saw Mchunu’s letter of directives including the disbandment of the political killings task team on social media.
However, she was still surprised to see Mkhwanazi making the July 6 statement. She said this prompted the deputy ministers to ask that Mchunu and Masemola sit and talk about the issues.
“We also raised another concern that we were observing … that they also needed to meet with DNC Sibiya and Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi and then sort [out] everything so that we can be able to work together,” said Boshielo.
“The events surrounding the disbandment of the PKTT serve as a case study on how not to manage a critical national institution,” said Boshielo.
