Pretoria - The City of Tshwane has come out to explain their internal investigations into the alleged involvement of their metro police officers accused of escorting Gupta wedding guests from Waterkloof Air Force Base to Sun City in the North West.
In their preliminary investigations, the city found that 11 officers - ranging from constables to a superintendent – were implicated in the escorting and provision of security for the wedding delegation. Initial reports had indicated that only nine officers were involved.
Eight officers were served with letters of 'intention to suspend' on Tuesday and were given 48 hours to respond in writing why they should not be suspended.
"The 48 hours expired on Thursday, 9 May 2013 and no representations were received from the eight officers stating why they should not be suspended. Letters of suspensions were signed off and dispatched to the members," the City's Executive Director: Support and Administration, Console Tleane, told a media briefing.
The officers will have their firearms and appointment certificates confiscated.
The ninth officer could not be served with the letter of intention to suspend because he was admitted to hospital.
"It was considered that it would not be prudent nor humane to serve a person with a letter of intention to suspend him while he is in a hospital," said Tleane.
The two other officers are yet to be served with the letters of intention to suspend by close day today.
They will also follow the same route as the others: they may face suspension if they fail to provide the department with reasons they should not be suspended within the 48-hour period.
The next step for the officers, who have been suspended on full pay, Tleane said, will be to formally charge them within five days.
Although he refused to pre-empt the final charges, Tleane said the officers seemed to have violated the municipal policies, which prohibit private work without permission.
Tleane stated that the officers were not granted any permission to engage in such private work.
The officers allegedly fitted blue lights and false number plates to private vehicles. The other two officers allegedly carried their service pistols, which is in contravention of the Firearms Controls Act, because they used the service weapons while performing private duties.
Tleane emphasized that the officials went there on their own accord and in their own capacity.
“The members, if ultimately proven to have taken part in the escorting and providing security detail to the wedding delegation, would have done so in their private capacities without any sanction or permission from the management. Therefore, the department had nothing to do whatsoever to do with incident.”
He also stressed that no official vehicle, whether marked or unmarked, was used in escorting the wedding delegation and that none of the officers belong to the VIP protection unit.
Internal hearings into the matter will resume next week.
The wedding came under spotlight after a jet chartered by the Gupta family made an unauthorised landing at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, a national key point, last Tuesday, causing widespread criticism.
A senior police officer, three air force officers, and the chief of state protocol were suspended for their alleged part in the unauthorised landing of the jet at the military base. – SAnews.gov.za
