Prince Mokotedi
Johannesburg - Gauteng Hawks head Prince Mokotedi still does not have security clearance after several months of leading the crack investigative unit.
Mokotedi was parachuted into the position following the departure of Shadrack Sibiya, who was fired last year following a disciplinary hearing which found him guilty of orchestrating the so-called Zimbabwe renditions.
Mokotedi had courted controversy at the National Prosecuting Authority while he headed the Integrity Management Unit.
He resigned and bowed out before facing disciplinary action on multiple charges of misconduct, for allegedly leaking a report at the culmination of an investigation he initiated and steered into former prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach.
A heated Mokotedi confirmed last week on Thursday that he had not yet been given security clearance.
"Security clearance is a very long process. They can’t give you security in one day. The head must first say I am suitable for the post, then the process unfolds. This thing [security clearance] is not quick, it happens in stages. I still have to have that machine put on me [a polygraph machine]," he said.
His response came after News24 established that his bid for unfettered security clearance may by scuppered because of pending civil litigation relating to his personal finances.
According to Mokotedi, when he applied for the top Hawks job late last year, he had declared that he had been tied up in court with two banks relating to payments in arrears.
Courted controversy
Publicly available court documents, of which News24 has copies, show that Investec Bank secured two judgments by default against Mokotedi and his wife relating to payments on a R1m bond and a R100 000 credit card bill.
It was further established that Mokotedi had owed nearly R10 000 on another credit card.
Mokotedi said that he had only found out about the default judgments against him in January.
"Those things [default judgments] happened in December, but I only found out about them in January," he said.
Mokotedi said his attorneys had since entered the fray and arranged a payment plan with the banks. He maintains he is now in the clear.
"I paid them R150 000. I got the money from a mining company I was consulting for and had actually invested in and they had struggled at first, but now they have started to pay me," he said.
Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi refused to comment on whether Mokotedi’s declaration and civil litigation would affect his security clearance.
The former NPA man had courted controversy in 2014 when he faced charges relating to his handling of an investigation into Breytenbach, who is now a DA MP.
According to his charge sheet, Mokotedi had expanded on the scope of an investigation into medical schemes without authorisation and then, without approval, had submitted the report, which purported to focus on Breytenbach, to the police.
'You are being stupid'
He was accused of breaching the NPA’s media policy, contravening the NPA’s code of conduct, contravening Section 41(6) of the NPA ACT, gross insubordination, conducting investigations without approval, improper disclosure of investigation reports, failure to comply with the NPA whistle-blower policy, dissemination of false information and bringing the NPA into disrepute.
When news of the report hit the headlines, Mokotedi raised eyebrows by publicly defending himself on live talk radio, which resulted in a new charge of breaching the NPA’s media policy.
"My charge sheet is in the public domain. What does this have to do with anything. You are being stupid."
"The reason why I was charged was because I went to 702," he said tersely.
He resigned before his hearing could be held, and then disappeared into the ether, before emerging in the top crime fighting position.
In 2010, Mokotedi testified in disgraced former police commissioner Jackie Selebi's defence, where he accused prosecutor Gerrie Nel and others of irregularly using secret funds, a move perceived as trying to derail the case.
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