Cape Town – The South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) on Monday condemned the feud between Western Cape figures, Dan Plato and Jeremy Vearey, calling it an obstruction and interference.
“The heated top-cop-versus-politician smear campaign saga will only serve to destabilise [the South African Police Service] SAPS and distract officers from the fight to uproot corruption, drugs, and gangsterism,” said SANCO national spokesperson,Jabu Mahlangu.
Mahlangu was referring to the recent war of words between the province’s MEC for Community Safety Dan Plato and SAPS’ deputy provincial police commissioner for detectives, Major-General Jeremy Vearey.
This most recent feud between the two began in early April after documents, including an affidavit, had been leaked to the media, wherein Vearey was alleged to have links to “gang high-flyers” and had allegedly accepted millions from Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir.
Previous unsubstantiated allegations about Vearey, which were linked to Plato, were made in 2012 and 2013, including the compilation of a dossier on alleged conversations between Plato and late businessman Jeffrey Franciscus wherein the claim was made that Vearey had worked with gang bosses.
In 2013, Vearey was again accused of links to gang members, this time by Plato’s informer and the man who was “guided by angels”, Pierre Mark Anthony Wyngaardt.
Since the leak, Vearey – a former bodyguard of late President Nelson Mandela, Umkhonto we Sizwe combatant, and Robben Island detainee – has sought to clear his name and accused Plato of, as SANCO put it, “orchestrating a smear campaign to discredit him”.
The Democratic Alliance’s Plato has denied any such attempt but has stated that he was happy the leak happened.
“If these [allegations] are found to be without merit, Plato should be fired and face criminal charges,” said Mahlangu.
“He should not be allowed to pursue a narrow political agenda that compromises the safety of our communities as well as the war against corruption and gangsterism.”
Mahlangu added that the “interference and obstruction” benefitted criminal syndicates and could put Vearey’s life in danger.
SANCO – who are affiliated to the African National Congress (ANC) – follow the ANC in the Western Cape in expressing its support of Vearey.
African News Agency