A R53m splurge by Crime Intelligence on spyware to allegedly intercept Cyril Ramaphosa's e-mails in 2017 has the police minister seeking to suspend the police commissioner.
Ramaphosa's office said the president was applying his mind to police minister Bheki Cele's request to suspend national police commissioner Khehla Sitole.
“Given the implications of this request ... the president is taking care to ensure he has all the information he needs to make an informed decision,” Ramaphosa's spokesperson Tyrone Seale said.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is also pressing ahead with its investigation, begun in 2018. It wants all documents related to the I-View Integrated Systems (IIS) multimillion-rand contract declassified.
IIS is owned by Inban Kistiah. It is alleged he won contracts with Crime Intelligence through fraud and corruption. Kistiah said he was sworn to secrecy and denied that the contracts were illegal.
The company is also at the centre of illegal surveillance equipment, known as a grabber, costing R45m. Crime Intelligence tried to buy it just days before the ANC's elective conference in 2017, but was thwarted by Ipid.
According to a Crime Intelligence document seen by the Sunday Times, a device for secure communications known as Daedalus was procured in the R53m deal.
Part of the deal was social-media monitoring software, Ripjar, to spy on the #FeesMustFall group.
Crime Intelligence signed the contract with IIS on December 21 2016. Ripjar and Daedalus cost R41m.
According to senior Crime Intelligence officer Tiyani Hlungwani, the following day R12m was paid to IIS, bringing the total to R53m.
Hlungwani said the software was never delivered because it did not belong to IIS. A more intrusive software, called Ultra-Profiler, was procured and allegedly used to intercept the e-mails of Ramaphosa, who was deputy president at the time.
The e-mails were later leaked.
They reportedly alluded to money Ramaphosa was paying to young women, later clarified as students' stipends to men and women.
A spokesperson for the inspector-general of intelligence, Jay Govender, said the irregular procurement by Crime Intelligence was investigated and recommendations made.
A senior Crime Intelligence officer, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Sunday Times it was unclear where Ultra-Profiler was used and for what purpose.
During Crime Intelligence's internal investigations it emerged that the IIS contract was signed by crime & intelligence information technology commander Godfrey Mahwayi rather than Sitole.
It also emerged that of the three quotations, Perfect Source Professional Services, with a similar proposal to that of IIS, was a human resources company owned by a former employee of IIS.
The amount allegedly used for equipment to intercept President Cyril Ramaphosa’s
e-mails in 2017
— R53m
In its subpoenas to Sitole's office, Ipid said it was investigating “some worrying incidences” in police procurement that had elements of corruption, fraud and money-laundering.
In one of the annexures, seen by the Sunday Times, and attached to its subpoenas, Ipid wants Sitole to present himself to be interviewed and to submit a sworn statement.
This relates to his presence at a December 13 2017 meeting at the Protea Hotel in Pretoria where the illegal procurement of the grabber was discussed.
Also at the meeting were deputy commissioners Ntombenhle Vuma and Lebeona Tsumane, and the then police minister Fikile Mbalula's adviser, Bongani Mbindwane.
Police spokesperson Vish Naidoo said Sitole could not comment because the presidency had already commented that Ramaphosa was considering Cele's request.
Attempts to get comment from Mahwayi and Secret Service account head Obert Nemutanzhela were unsuccessful. Cele said he was not in a position to comment on his communication with the president.
In January, judge Norman Davis found that Sitole and his deputies, Vuma and Tsumane, had breached their duties in not co-operating with Ipid by refusing to declassify crucial documents.
Last month Ramaphosa told Cele to instruct the commissioner to hand over all documents relating to the failed attempt by Crime Intelligence to illegally procure the surveillance equipment.
This week Sitole, Vuma and Tsumane lost their appeal against Davis's judgment.
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