By Levy Masiteng
Former acting national police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane has lost a Labour Appeal Court bid to be reinstated after the court dismissed his appeal against his 2020 dismissal from the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Judge Portia Nkutha-Nkontwana, delivering the judgment on Thursday, said the appeal was dismissed with no order as to costs, adding that the order reflected a unanimous outcome “notwithstanding the difference in reasoning”.
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Phahlane was dismissed in 2020 after a SAPS disciplinary process found him guilty of “elements of dishonesty” linked to a long-running procurement dispute over a 2014 contract for 360-degree panoramic cameras.
In that matter, earlier findings against him said he intentionally or negligently contravened public finance rules by refusing to honour the contract. His decision was tied fruitless and wasteful expenditure later quantified at about R24.49 million, in a contract reported at about R46 million.
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Phahlane, who served as acting national police commissioner from October 2015 until June 2017, has long said that his removal and subsequent dismissal were unlawful, but courts and tribunals have repeatedly upheld SAPS’s decision to terminate his employment.
Separate from the labour dispute, Phahlane has also faced criminal investigation and charges over alleged corruption linked to police contractors, allegations he has denied.
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