Johannesburg - The docket detailing an investigation against the national head of the Hawks, Lieutenant-General Berning Ntlemeza, appears to have been placed on the desk of Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba to make a decision.
Last month, The Star revealed that the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Limpopo had a completed docket against Ntlemeza. He was accused of ignoring a complaint against a former police captain at Polokwane police station.
The officer, Thomas Rallele, who was allegedly romantically linked to Ntlemeza’s daughter, was caught red-handed with a cellphone taken during an armed robbery and defrauding the police by falsifying vehicle logs.
The complaint was submitted by Lieutenant Boitumelo Ramahlaha, who is based at Polokwane police station and investigated Rallele, and ultimately had him convicted after reports proved Rallele’s guilt.
Ramahlaha reported the misconduct to Ntlemeza, who was the deputy provincial commissioner for Limpopo at the time. But the complaint was allegedly ignored, and a defeating the ends of justice charge was opened against Ntlemeza.
Ramahlaha’s case was probed by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, and the NPA said last month they would make a decision by the first week in May on whether to charge Ntlemeza.
When The Star asked the NPA if a decision had been made, NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku said the Director of Public Prosecutions in Limpopo had received the Ntlemeza docket, but had chosen not to pursue the criminal case.
While Mfaku initially promised to send a written confirmation of this, the email never arrived.
The Star contacted Ramahlaha for comment, but he referred questions to his lawyer, Matome Moloto. Moloto sent The Star a copy of a letter sent to his client by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in Limpopo, which indicated that the representation had been sent to Jiba’s office, and he would be contacted when a decision had been made.
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The Star