Africa-Press – South-Africa. The City of Johannesburg insists it was infiltrated by “spies”, despite the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision not to prosecute anyone for alleged rogue intelligence operations at the City’s graft-busting unit, the Group Forensic Investigation Services (GFIS).
Speaker Colleen Makhubele told News24 on Tuesday that the NPA did not inform the City of its decision not to prosecute anyone after a criminal case was opened in May 2022 for alleged fraud and corruption in the GFIS office, which was launched by former Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba in November 2016.
The May 2022 case was opened by the now suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
Makhubele also claimed she was “spied on”, saying she was informed that her phone was hacked and private information downloaded.
News24 reported last month that NPA Gauteng spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the state would not prosecute anyone, following the Hawks’ investigation, because of “no prospects of a successful prosecution”.
Speaking after a media briefing where she gave an update on the City’s internal probe into the GFIS’ alleged unlawful conduct, Makhubele said there were around 4 000 pages of “contradictory information” regarding alleged criminal conduct within its investigation unit.
She said the City appointed advocate Sesi Baloyi SC as an independent investigator because the GFIS allegedly owned illegal spy equipment.
Asked whether the NPA informed the City of the decision not to prosecute, Makhubele said: “We have not spoken to them, they have not spoken to us. We wouldn’t want to speak to the NPA. The best people to speak with the NPA would be the investigators.”
On whether the City maintained there was strong evidence of rogue GFIS activity, Makhubele, who had earlier told the briefing she believed she was spied on, said: “I can’t respond to any of that at the moment. We have given it to an independent investigator to give us a way forward on it.”
The GFIS, according to its official records, was an essential cog in Johannesburg’s graft-busting efforts, including handing back 41 hijacked buildings in the CBD to their rightful owners and securing more than 20 criminal convictions for fraud and corruption in the illegal takeover of properties.
Councillor Lloyd Philips, the chairperson of the council’s oversight committee, asserted that there had been “spies” inside the City for at least the past four years, owing to what he called “prohibited counterintelligence” within the City since “around 2019”.
Philips stressed:
He added: “There has to be [spies in the City] because we are sitting with the equipment.”
Philips did not want to reveal how much the alleged spy equipment cost, but said: “All of those figures will come out in the report, but it is a significant amount.”
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
