By Johnathan Paoli
Former Crime Intelligence head Major-General Mulangi Mphego has been granted R5,000 bail after his lawyer questioned why police waited more than three months after raiding his home to arrest him for allegedly possessing police-issued ammunition.
Appearing in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Mphego’s advocate, Piet du Plessis, criticised the prosecution and investigating team over the timing of the arrest.
ALSO READ: Allegations of threats rock Sibanyoni’s R2.2m extortion case
He argued that his client had been aware of the investigation since July and could have been summoned to court rather than arrested at midnight on Monday.
“This matter is three months old. In my respectful submission, totally unnecessarily so. After they’ve been interacting with him for weeks and months,” Du Plessis said.
Mphego, a former acting head of Crime Intelligence who left the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 2009, faces a charge of unlawfully possessing ammunition allegedly originating from police stock.
The charge follows a search-and-seizure operation at his Centurion home on 6 July, during which the SAPS National Cold Case Unit seized ammunition, documents and electronic devices as part of an investigation into the death of former deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Sindile “Pitso” Mfazi.
Du Plessis argued that the state had taken more than three months to bring the ammunition charge against his client, despite seizing the ammunition during the July operation.
“Why didn’t they, if this was such a terrible crime to be committed, they seized on the 6th of July, they seized the ammunition. Why didn’t they arrest him there and then and bring him before court? Now, they wait three months and then they go have a warrant for arrest issued and executed at midnight at his house,” he said.
Du Plessis told the court that a High Court application against the police minister and several police officers, challenging the lawfulness of the search-and-seizure warrant and its execution, was expected to be heard on 27 October.
ALSO READ: Allegations of threats rock Sibanyoni’s R2.2m extortion case
“In terms of his lawful possession of the firearms, he, in any event, is entitled to lawfully possess these 9mm cartridges and the 5.56mm ammunition. The only issue is apparently that it originates from police stock,” he said.
Du Plessis submitted that there was no basis to oppose bail and argued that Mphego should ideally be released on warning. However, he proposed bail of between R3,000 and R5,000.
He told the court that his client was a South African citizen with a fixed residential address, property and business interests in the country.
Mphego is the chief executive officer of security company African Estimate Group and has three children who remain partly dependent on him.
Du Plessis said his client had no previous convictions or pending criminal cases.
The state did not oppose bail, reserving its response to the defence’s other arguments for trial.
The prosecutor told the court that investigations were complete and that arrangements had been made for the defence to receive copies of the docket on 3 November.
The magistrate granted Mphego bail of R5,000, finding that he had established ties to South Africa and that there was no apparent reason to believe he would abscond.
The court rejected the state’s proposed conditions that Mphego report weekly to a police station and surrender his passport.
However, it ordered him not to contact or interfere with state witnesses, directly or indirectly.
The matter was postponed to 3 November for disclosure of the docket, with a trial date expected to be arranged.
The July raid formed part of a wider investigation into the 2021 death of Mfazi, who was then deputy national commissioner for Crime Detection.
His death was initially attributed to Covid-19, but subsequent allegations and investigations have raised questions about whether he was poisoned while probing alleged high-level police corruption.
ALSO READ: Anti-austerity groups to march on Parliament as Godongwana tables mid-term budget
Mfazi was reportedly investigating matters linked to the fallout from the Phala Phala farm burglary, including allegations that Crime Intelligence funds and state resources had been diverted to run an unauthorised covert operation.
Mphego has previously denied allegations that he entered Mfazi’s home after his death and removed sensitive investigative files, including documents linked to the Phala Phala investigation.
The ammunition charge is separate from those allegations, and Mphego has not been charged in this matter with any direct role in Mfazi’s death.
