ActionSA demands answers after SAPS clears officials implicated in Ipid probe

ActionSA says it is deeply concerned after parliamentary question replies revealed that two senior officials in the SAPS protection and security services were found not guilty during internal disciplinary proceedings despite the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) recommending that steps be taken against them.

ActionSA said the matter came to light when a parliamentary question was submitted by MP Dereleen James to acting police minister Firoz Cachalia.

James asked whether the minister would provide a full account of the outcomes of disciplinary processes instituted against certain SAPS members after recommendations contained in the Ipid report.

In response, Cachalia confirmed that both officials remain employed at SAPS in the protection and security services division.

James also asked what findings had been made in the disciplinary proceedings and why the outcomes differed from the findings and recommendations made by Ipid.

According to the minister’s written response, departmental investigations found that both officials had a case to answer in terms of the SAPS discipline regulations in that they contravened regulations and were therefore subjected to internal disciplinary proceedings.

“The findings in the internal processes and Ipid report both recommended steps against the two officials for similar charges. Upon conclusion of the SAPS disciplinary process, both employees were, however, found not guilty.

“Ipid recommended that the officials be subjected to an internal disciplinary process. The SAPS must then implement the process where a member may be represented by an employee representative and respond to charges. An official is also appointed to hear evidence from the employer and employee representatives and make a decision. In this instance and in both cases the presiding officers found the two officials not guilty,” the minister said.

ActionSA chief whip Lerato Ngobeni criticised the outcome, saying it undermines confidence in SAPS accountability systems.

“This comes despite clear findings and recommendations by Ipid that they had a case to answer for serious misconduct.

“The Ipid investigation identified serious misconduct, including contraventions of SAPS disciplinary regulations arising from conduct inconsistent with the duties and obligations of members within the presidential protection service environment. These findings were sufficiently serious to warrant formal disciplinary proceedings, yet the internal process resulted in not guilty findings on all charges,” said Ngobeni.

“This outcome cannot be viewed in isolation. It adds to a growing body of evidence before the Madlanga commission of inquiry and parliament’s ad hoc committee into related matters, both of which have exposed deep and systemic vulnerabilities in SAPS governance and accountability structures.

“These processes increasingly point to an uncomfortable but unavoidable conclusion: SAPS’ internal disciplinary mechanisms are not fit for purpose in their current form and cannot be relied upon to deliver credible accountability in politically sensitive or high-stakes matters.

“The pattern is now consistent: Ipid makes findings, SAPS refers matters to internal disciplinary processes, and those processes routinely result in acquittals that are difficult to reconcile with the underlying investigative record. In light of these developments, ActionSA will be submitting an urgent formal Promotion of Access to Information Act application requesting the full record of decision and/or judgment arising from these disciplinary proceedings.”

Ngobeni said this will include the presiding officers’ detailed reasoning, evidentiary assessments, transcript records where available and all submissions made by the parties during the disciplinary hearings.

“The public has a right to understand how such serious Ipid findings are repeatedly overturned in internal SAPS processes.”

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