South African Police service

South African manhunt for escaped prisoners

Police have launched a manhunt for seven awaiting trial prisoners who escaped at the Lenasia Magistrate court after overpowering police officers at the holding cells at approximately 16:00 today. The prisoners had already appeared in court today for robbery with aggravating circumstances and housebreaking and theft. Members of the public are warned not to confront these prisoners but to contact the nearest police station if they see them or contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111 at all hours.

It is alleged that the prisoners overpowered police officers working at the court cells and broke the main door to make their escape. They were appearing for cases committed at Lenasia, Eldorado Park and Ennerdale. The prisoners are as follows:

Brendon Paul for housebreaking and theft
Johnson Leroy for housebreaking and theft
Romeo Beukes for robbery with aggravating circumstances
Luvesh Veerasmy for housebreaking and theft
Dumisani Selepe for housebreaking and theft
Thabiso Sebelwane for housebreaking and theft, and
Mpho Ramatsoale for housebreaking and theft.

Police have deployed a team of detectives and crime Intelligence officers to trace these prisoners. An internal investigation is also being conducted to establish if the escape of these prisoners was through negligence or not. Anyone who may have assisted the prisoners to escape will face a criminal case as well disciplinary actions that may result in being discharged from the service. – South African Police Media Service

South Africa’s police getting more criminal than the criminals: Institute

The South African Police Service, where officers are usually drawn from the ANC’s former terrorist militia, Umkhonto we Sizwe, is becoming part of South Africa’s runaway crime problem. In a report released today by the liberal political society, the Institute for Race Relations (IRR) a whole series of crimes committed by police officers are enumerated.

Entitled, The broken blue line 2, the study draws from media reports of serious police crimes, such as murder, rape and armed robbery. Petty crimes were not taken into account, as the report states:

We are not concerned, for the purposes of this project, with allegations of corruption, petty harassment, or petty assaults by police officers. For example if a police officer solicited a bribe or roughed up a motorist such cases would fall outside of the scope of this project. The project is rather concerned with police involvement in serious and violent crime and seeks to track and record incidents where police officers plan and execute crimes such asrapes, murders, and armed robberies.

Between their previous report, Broken blue line 1, compiled in 2011, the IRR has again identified at least 100 crimes committed by policeman which could be seen to represent a pattern. Of the 100 crimes identified, the breakdown was as follows:

32 related to murders and attempted murders
22 related to armed robberies
26 related to rapes
20 related to other crime types ranging from torture to theft and burglaries

Rank         Number of officers convicted      Percentage of total
Major general 1                                               0%
Brigadier        10                                               1%
Colonel            21                                               1%
Major              10                                                1%
Lieutenant-colonel 43                                       3%
Captain         163                                              11%
Lieutenant     84                                                 6%
Warrant officer 716                                          49%
Sergeant      267                                               18%
Constable     129                                                 9%
Personnel officer 4                                              0%
Total convictions 1 448                         100%

Here are some extracts from the report describing some of the more spectacular crimes committed by the “transformed” (affirmative-action) South African Police Service.

Rape

On 13th August 2013, the Cape Argus reported that a Cape Town police captain, accused of raping a sex worker, had been arrested. Moses Dlamini, a spokesman for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), said that a 26-year-old-woman was picked up by a policeman in a private vehicle on 3rd August. After negotiating a price for oral sex, the policeman allegedly changed his mind and demanded sex. When the woman refused, the policeman assaulted and raped her. After the incident, the woman escaped and reported the vehicle’s registration number
to the police. On 8th August, the policeman was arrested and held at the Claremont police station. He was charged with assault and rape in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court. The accused police officer was granted bail of R1 000 and ordered not to make contact with the victim, according to a Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila.

On 5th September 2013,City Press reported that a constable based at the Macassar police station was accused of raping a 23-year-old woman in police cells on the 21st July. She was arrested for housebreaking and theft. Allegedly, the victim asked for toilet paper and the suspect gave it to her, after which he returned to her cell and allegedly raped her. When the IPID was informed of the incident, the police officer went off duty and disappeared for a while. The policeman was tracked down and arrested on 4th September. The constable appeared in the Somerset West Magistrate’s Court.

On 2nd April 2014, the City Press reported the arrest of a police constable and another man for allegedly raping a teenage girl in Vosloorus, Gauteng. The 19-year-old was walking with her boyfriend in Vosloorus when a VW polo stopped next to them and the occupants held them
at gunpoint. After the men took the couple’s cell phones, they told the boyfriend to leave and forced the woman into the car. The men stopped in an open field and the civilian started to rape the woman at the back of the car while the officer pointed his gun at her. Afterwards, the police officer raped her as well, according to IPID. The men then dropped her off at a taxi rank. The woman remembered the vehicle’s registration number and reported the incident to the police.

On 13th December 2013, City Press

reported that a police constable was found guilty of raping sixteen women. On the 12th December 2013, the constable was convicted by the High Court

in Johannesburg on 35 of the 46 charges upon which he was tried. They include sixteen rape charges, nine kidnapping charges, seven of robbery, two of attempted robbery, and one of theft. He was arrested in July 2012. Between March 2011 and July 2012, he offered women lifts in his BMW before taking them to deserted areas to rape them. (Omitted from the report and from the City Press article is the fact that this black policeman preyed on white women in predominantly white areas, so most of these rapes were interracial. If they did not get into his car, they would be accused of racism.)

Murder and attempted murders

On 3rd February 2014, Independent Online reported that a police officer was arrested in KwaDukuza, in connection with the murder of two other police officers. The incident happened when four officers stopped at the side of the R74 in order to investigate a red car. Three men appeared from the bush and shot the constable and a student constable sitting in front of the police vehicle. One of the attackers jumped into the police vehicle and wrestled with one of the surviving officers for his firearm. The three men fled the scene when the fourth officer at the back shot at them. The 53-year-old-officer suspected of being involved appeared in the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court.

On 18th August 2014, The Citizen reported about the arrest of an advocate, an attorney, two businessmen, a former police officer and a policeman for the murder of Narend Anandrai. Mr Anandrai was shot and killed outside of his home in Havenside, Chatsworth, KwaZulu-Natal on March 2014. During the shooting, his car burst into flames, resulting in him being burnt beyond recognition. The motive for the killing was that Mr Anandrai lent R4.4 million to a small group of people. His debtors allegedly hired Gregory Pillay, a 37-year-old man from Chatsworth, to kill him. Police arrested this man in August and further investigation led to six more suspects. Among these was a member of the Public Order Police Unit in Durban who would face disciplinary charges which ran concurrently with his criminal charges. All six of the suspects appeared in
court on 18th August.

On 1st March 2013, the City Press reported that eight police officers had been implicated in the killing of Mido Macia, an East Rand taxi driver. Macia (27), a Mozambican national, was tied to the back of a police van and dragged along the street in Daveyton. Due to his injuries, Macia died in the local police station’s cells later that day. According to IPID, the eight officers were charged with murder and appeared in Daveyton Magistrate’s Court.

On 24th March 2012, City Press reported the murder of a man by a policewoman in Letlhabile near Brits, North West. The 32-year-old policewoman poured boiling cooking oil on her boyfriend’s face, chest, and arms following a fight on 11th March. The man died of his injuries and the
policewoman was arrested and charged with murder.

Armed robbery

On the 11th January 2014, the Pretoria News reported that two policemen had been arrested
for robbing a Durban man of R500 000 at gunpoint. Fahim Essack, who owns a rice business, said that he was driving with close to R1 million, paid in cash by his customers, in the boot of his car. At 10pm, he was pulled over on the N1 by two Pretoria police officers in uniform driving an unmarked vehicle. They did a search of his vehicle and found the money in his boot. After they discovered it, they told Mr Essack that the money laundering units had to get involved. One officer travelled with Mr Essack to the police station while the other drove the police vehicle. After some time, the officer in the police car pulled over and said that he had been ordered to
count the money. As he counted the money, Mr Essack saw the officer hiding money behind the
seat of the car. When Mr Essack confronted him, the officer replied that they were going to take
half of the money. Mr Essack refused to negotiate, and this prompted the officer to threaten him
with his gun. Mr Essack said that at that point, he had no choice but to drive away. Both officers
were arrested at the Tshwane metro police headquarters in WF Nkomo Street after the police
conducted their preliminary investigation. They were to have the opportunity to explain why
they should not be suspended. The officers were faced with charges of corruption and armed
robbery and were to appear in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court.

On 15th April 2013, the Cape Argus reported that two police officers were arrested in connection
with a robbery at a Chinese-owned business in Milnerton, Cape Town. Of six people who
participated in the robbery of a business on Marconi Road in Montague Gardens, two were
allegedly policemen. One of the robbers wore a police uniform while one of the getaway cars was
a police vehicle. According to police spokesperson, Lt Col Andre Traut, the six robbers fl
ed the scene in three vehicles, including a black Mercedes-Benz Vito bus. Flying Squad members, which were on patrol in Voortrekker Road in Belville, spotted the Vito and gave chase. They managed
to stop the vehicle and arrest the people inside. Lt Col Traut identified one of the suspects as a
31-year-old police constable. Lt Col Traut also confirmed that another police officer was linked to
the incident and arrested on Saturday the 13th April 2013. Four of the six suspects were arrested
and were expected to appear in court soon.

On 8th January 2014, The Citizen reported that four North West police officers had been accused
of robbery and extortion. A warrant officer, and three constables allegedly robbed an Ethiopian
man of an undisclosed amount of cash at Karlin Park, Zinnaville, on 7th December 2013. When the
officers became aware that the man opened a case against them, they asked another Ethiopian
man to convince him to withdraw it, in return for which they would refund his money. Brigadier
Thulani Ngubane said that they allegedly gave the man R10 000 on condition that he would
not return to the police station and leave Rustenburg. The officers appeared in the Tlhabane
Magistrate’s Court.

South African police ‘abuse sex workers’

Of 80 sex workers based in Johannesburg, 52 (65 percent) had been abused by police, the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre (TLAC) said on Thursday.

“The most common forms of abuse experienced by sex workers are emotional violence such as swearing, insults, spitting, and being chased away, at least one incident of physical abuse, and unlawful arrests,” the TLAC said in a statement, citing a recent study of 80 street-based sex workers.

Sixteen percent of the sex workers surveyed indicated they had experienced physical abuse, and a further five percent experienced sexual assaults from police officers.

Such treatment went against the police’s code of ethics. Although their role was to serve and protect, many police officers acted unlawfully.

“Engagements with the police have shown that some officers struggle to execute their roles due to the difficult nature of policing sex work,” the centre said.

“As a result they are forced to utilise municipal by-laws of loitering to arrest sex workers and remove them from their places of work.”

Of the 80 sex workers, 12 (15 percent) said they had been arrested, with 10 percent stating they were held in holding cells without appearing in court.

“Where we have assisted sex workers to lay charges against errant police, all these cases never proceeded to court because of sex workers’ fear of harassment and intimidation from police,” the centre said.

It would also have a negative impact on their ability to make a living.

The study found sex workers continued to be vulnerable to abuse from both police and clients, which limited their human rights and affected their income.

This in turn prevented them from accessing services such as health care, social and legal services.

“A legal opinion obtained shows that using loitering by-laws to ‘police’ sex workers is illegal and open to various legal challenges,” the TLAC said.

“The findings of the research study, conducted with Sisonke, the sex worker’s rights movement, once again proves why decriminalisation of adult sex work is necessary.”

It would compel police to focus on serious crime, and support sex workers to realise their rights to safety and security, dignity, and other critical services.

Police were not immediately available for comment. – Sapa

S. African police trying to clean up crime, corruption in its ranks

Twenty members of the SA Police Service have been suspended in the past two months, the police said on Sunday.

“The actions of the employees were investigated and, based on prima facie evidence, disciplinary action was taken against them,” spokesman Lt-Gen Solomon Makgale said.

The suspended employees include eight police officers and 12 administration officials, said Makgale.

Makgale said that over the past two months 191 members of the police were arrested for their alleged involvement in various crimes such as murder, rape, corruption and fraud.

“An instruction has been issued to make it compulsory for members of the SAPS to regularly declare when they are facing criminal investigations.”

Makgale said that police management was also in the process of verifying the academic qualifications of employees.

“Employees whose academic records differ from what they have declared to SAPS will be dealt with and may be investigated criminally depending on the circumstances,” said Makgale.

Agang SA has welcomed the decision by the police to verify the qualifications of all policemen and women.

“The levels of public trust and confidence in the capabilities of the South African Police Service are so low,” spokesman Thabo Leshilo said in a statement.

Leshilo said Agang SA urged the police leadership to speed up the probe to verify the qualifications, especially those in leadership positions.

Makgale said the police has dismissed 930 of its members over the past 17 months. – Sapa

187 S. African policemen arrested for murder, rape, robbery

A total of 187 police officers were arrested over two months this year for crimes including murder, rape, and robbery, the Sunday Times reported.

Between July 8 and August 26, 39 officers were arrested for murder, 14 for rape, 20 for robbery, and 23 for corruption.

The Sunday Times obtained these figures from a document issued by the police’s human resources department earlier this month.

The arrests made during the two months also included nine officers for possession of drugs, and another nine for drunk driving. Eight were arrested for theft and five for assault. Two were arrested for hijacking.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Independent reported that the Gauteng government paid out almost R100 million in civil claims against the police for 2011 and 2012.

In 2012 the number of claims nearly doubled to 1427, from the 652 lodged in 2011.

The figures were given in a parliamentary reply by Gauteng community safety MEC Faith Mazibuko.

Mazibuko said the increase in claims was due to people’s increased awareness of their constitutional rights and certain law firms specialising in such claims. – Sapa

Police must stop violence between SA blacks and Somalians: ANC

The police must stop the violence between South Africans and Somalians living in Port Elizabeth, the ANC in the Eastern Cape said on Monday.

“Any type of violence, including looting of shops owned by Somali nationals is illegal, wrong and has no place in South Africa,” African National Congress provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane said in a statement.

“The SA Police Service members are the first and last line of defence for our communities, and we call on them to use the law and public order policing techniques to stop this wave of violence.”

Eastern Cape police said seven men had been arrested at the weekend for looting and burning Somali-owned shops in Port Elizabeth.

At least 10 shops in KwaZakhele and New Brighton were attacked.

Brigadier Miranda Mills said two shops were looted and burnt in Ntintili street, and a car parked outside was set alight.

Several other shops were targeted on Sunday following the arrest of a Somali man accused of shooting dead a man outside a shop on Saturday evening.

Police had since moved some foreigners out of the area.

Mabuyane said the ANC in the province was calling on residents in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro to refrain from taking the law into their own hands.

“Somali nationals must also stop using violence to resolve challenges they face but must put their trust in the police to deal with any challenge.

“Violence will not help us deal with any situation but will make matters worse for our people,” he said. – Sapa

Three murder accused allege SA police torture

Three men accused of shooting dead an Mpumalanga mineworker three years ago were tortured into confessing to the crime, the Nelspruit Circuit of the High Court in Pretoria heard on Wednesday.

Isaac Sebokuboku Phala, 29, Calvin Tjatji, 24, and Tshepo Seloane, 24, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, armed robbery with aggravating circumstances and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition when they appeared in court, a Sapa correspondent reported.

They are accused of murdering Madingwana Max Matlou, 43, and robbing him of his Samsung cellphone in Mashishing on August 22, 2010. The cellphone was later sold to Cash Crusaders in Emalahleni.

During a trial-within-a-trial on Wednesday, Justice Mogotsi, for Phala, told the court his client would testify that Constable Ernest Vuma Mgwambi, Warrant Officer Johannes Thomas Motau and two captains forced him to make a confession.

“My client will testify that his head was covered with a plastic tube and pepper spray was used to make him suffocate. He said they forced him to produce the murder weapon,” Mogotsi said.

He said Phala was charged only once his wounds had healed.

King William Manzini, for Tjatji, told the court his client would also testify he was assaulted and forced to do a pointing out at the crime scene.

“My client said his constitutional rights were not read to him. On June 4 2011, he was assaulted and was only taken to a doctor for a check up three weeks after the beating.”

Madala Simpson Mulaudzi, for Seloane, said his client was fetched from Tubatse police station and was taken to the Leboeng police station on June 6, 2011.

“My client said he was taken to a bridge at the exit of Tubatse. He was then taken to a veld, where he was handcuffed with his hands in the back and on his legs.”

“After a plastic tube was put over his head, they used pepper spray to make him suffocate. He will testify that he was sjambokked severely on his back and sustained serious injuries.”

Seloane was taken to Leboeng police station where he was introduced to Tjatji, said Mulaudzi.

“He will testify he was told to go to a magistrate and make a confession…. He will also testify that he was told the injuries were inflicted by his parents when they beat him up.”

“He said he was told by Mgwambi that if he reported the assault, he would shoot him dead.

“He said when he went to the magistrate he reported he had been assaulted. That was when the magistrate cancelled the interview. He claimed he was only taken to a doctor on June 9.”

The defence lawyers said their clients would testify that Mgwambi drove them to the crime scene and asked them to return with other police officers to do the pointing out.

When Mgwambi took the stand, he testified that he was the investigating officer in the case and that no assault had taken place.

“No assault took place against the three suspects. The reason why we drove to the crime scene is that it is the only road from point A to point B. There is no alternative road.”

Motau, who also took the stand, denied that the three men were assaulted or forced to make confession.

“I was with the investigation officer, Constable Mgwambi, during the entire investigation. All the suspects co-operated with police and they voluntarily chose to make the statements.”

Judge Mmonoa Teffo postponed the trial to Thursday. – Sapa

S. African policeman, customs official steal drugs at border post

A police constable and an SA Revenue Service (Sars) employee were arrested for allegedly stealing drugs at the Lebombo border post on Wednesday, Mpumalanga police said.

“The policeman searched a taxi from Mozambique while its driver went to stamp his passport, and found a washing powder, plastic [container] stacked with cocaine estimated at [a street value of] more than R3 million,” said Colonel Leonard Hlathi.

The officer allegedly called an off-duty Sars employee who took the drugs to his home.

A police operation was already underway in response to a tip-off about the taxi entering the country, and this led to the policeman’s arrest.

“After the constable’s arrest, he took us to the other suspect’s home where he freely handed the drugs over and was arrested.”

The police later arrested the taxi driver.

They would all appear in the Komatipoort Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. – Sapa

Police assault Afrikaner, call him a ‘white bastard’

The Citizen reports that the South African minister of police will have to cough up for the damages sustained by a Nelspruit man when he was arrested for no reason, shot with rubber bullets, assaulted and belittled as a “white bastard”

In terms of a settlement agreement in the North Gauteng High Court the minister of police accepted full liability for the damages sustained by Jan Lodewyk Coetzee, 39.

Coetzee is claiming over R870 000 for his ordeal at the hands of the police in February 2011, but the amount that must be paid will only be determined later.

Coetzee said in a statement the incident started when a fellow employee at a towing service parked one of the tow-trucks in front of his house without permission.

After repeatedly asking colleagues to remove the tow-truck, Coetzee and his father-in-law dragged the truck into the garage and locked it up.

When his colleague later arrived to fetch the truck, Coetzee’s father-in-law jokingly said he first had to pay R4 000 for storage, resulting in a huge argument.

Coetzee said he was busy with a birthday braai and wasn’t part of the discussion.

Later that night his boss and colleague arrived with about 12 heavily armed policemen dressed in combat clothing and bulletproof vests.

When the police wanted to force the garage open Coetzee asked if they had a warrant, where upon pepper spray was sprayed into his eyes.

His boss told him he was going to get hurt that night. Two policemen then opened fire on him with shotguns.

They kept on firing at him even when he turned around. They then sprayed pepper spray into his face again before throwing him into the police van, despite the fact that he was bleeding profusely.

At the police station he was hit and kicked by policemen who kept on shouting that he was a “white bastard”.

He was later taken to hospital, where he was handcuffed to his bed and guarded by nine policemen for four days, but no charges were ever laid against him.

Coetzee said he had been shot nine times. Some of the wounds never healed, he couldn’t straighten his left leg and he suffered from chronic headaches.

He battled to sleep, was nervous the whole time and became so aggressive after the incident that his wife insisted he needed counselling. – The Citizen.co.za

Black policewoman shoplifter granted bail

A policewoman accused of shoplifting two tubes of mascara has been granted R500 bail by the Potchefstroom Magistrate’s Court, North West police said on Tuesday.

Lt-Col Kenaleone Aggy Motloung, of the crime intelligence unit, appeared in court on Monday, Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.

Ngubane said she was arrested at Clicks at the Mooiriver Mall on Friday.

North West police commissioner Lt-Gen Zukiswa Mbombo said Motloung would also face internal disciplinary processes.

Ngubane said Motloung would appear in court again on August 22.

Earlier, Sergeant Kelebogile Moiloa said the policewoman was off duty at the time of her arrest. – Sapa

Policeman shot dead on patrol in black township Nyanga

Nyanga, one of the famous black townships in Cape Town

A policeman was shot dead and another was wounded while on patrol in Nyanga, Western Cape police said on Tuesday.

The policeman was shot in the head by two men he and a partner stopped to search on Monday night, said Captain Frederick van Wyk. He died later in hospital.

The other policeman was wounded in the hand and shoulder in an exchange of fire with the two gunmen, who shot at them while they were getting out of their police car at the corner of Zwelitsha and Hlathe roads.

Two members of the public were also wounded in the crossfire and were taken to hospital, said Van Wyk.

“Several shots were fired and SA Police Service members returned fire as the suspects fled the scene on foot,” he said.

The men stole a service pistol from one of the policemen before fleeing.

An officer was shot in the head and died later in hospital.

No arrests had been made.

“This attack on police officers will not be tolerated and every endeavour will be made to bring those responsible to book,” Van Wyk said. – Sapa

Minister responds to South African police corruption

There are key factors which have been overlooked in the international corruption survey which states that 47 percent of South Africans paid bribes to government officials, the police said on Sunday.

Three factors had been overlooked, Lieutenant General Solomon Makgale said.

The first, that only 1 000 urban residents were used as a sample group.

“One must wonder if a survey amongst 1 000 urban respondents is a true representation of overall country’s perception,” Makgale said.

The second was the association of the South African police service (Saps) with other government officials including traffic officers, metro police and municipal workers.

And the third, that it takes two to make a corrupt transaction, the corrupter and the corrupted, Makgale said.

On Friday, The Star newspaper reported that the Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer stated that out of the 74 percent of South Africans that had come into contact with a police official in the past year, 36 percent of them had paid a bribe.

The barometer also stated that 74 percent of South Africans viewed public servants as corrupt.

The police were seen as the most corrupt institution in the public sector by 83 percent of South Africans, The Star reported.

On Thursday, national police commissioner General Riah Phiyega launched an anti-corruption unit to fight fraud and corruption in the service.

It would start operating during the current financial year.

“If we are to successfully fight crime in the country, we must first get our house in order. We will therefore not shy away from taking action against our own,” Phiyega said in a statement. – Sapa

Eleven firearms seized over the weekend

Eleven firearms were seized during various operations across Gauteng at the weekend, police said on Sunday.

Captain Doniah Mothutsane said two R5 rifles thought to be linked to taxi violence were seized near Sebokeng by members of the Crime Intelligence Unit.

Four revolvers and five pistols with rounds of ammunition were recovered in Mamelodi, Midrand, Boksburg, KwaThema, Akasia and Alexandra.

Mothutsane said 18 people had been arrested for possession of illegal firearms and would appear in various magistrate’s courts across the province.

“As these firearms may be linked to serious and violent crimes, suspects may face further serious charges on further investigations,” she said. – Sapa

No suspects in SA Police hack attack

No suspects have been identified in connection with the hacking of the SA Police Service website last month, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa revealed on Wednesday.

Mthethwa said the investigation was still underway and the level of threat to identified whistleblowers was not yet known.

The information was provided in an answer to a parliamentary question by Freedom Front Plus spokesman Anton Alberts.

Alberts asked the minister whether any steps had been taken to safeguard those whose identities were compromised.

Mthethwa replied: “Full implementation of steps will be finalised after the investigation and the threat assessment is completed.”

Alberts said it was concerning that these people appeared to not receive any protection by police.

He feared the hacking incident would be a set-back for crime-fighting because people with information would be too scared to come forward.

“This is negligence on a huge scale and shows the incompetence of the state’s information technology agency which manages the police’s website. The public’s confidence in the police will definitely be harmed by this.”

In May, a State Information Technology Agency (Sita) official said information posted by citizens alerting police about crime had been left on the police site by mistake.

“The data is collected on that public server. There was a little bit of an oversight, because it should have been removed afterwards,” said divisional head responsible for government solutions, Daniel Mashao.

“We increased the functionality [of the police website] to allow people to be able to report further information. When we did that we should have also decided to move it to the secure site.”

The hacker reportedly performed a data dump when complainants and whistle-blowers’ details were downloaded from the SA Police Service website’s e-mail server and uploaded onto another site.

Mashao said at the time that the information obtained by the hacker comprised about 15,000 lines.

“Most of the information was submitted anonymously. We are concerned because there is information [within the 15,000 lines] where people have given [their] further details to say ‘I know about such and such [a crime].”

Mthethwa re-iterated in his reply that nobody in the witness protection programme had been compromised in any way, contrary to media reports.

The hackers used social networking site Twitter to inform the public that the attack was in connection with the lack of arrests for the August 2012 shooting of 34 protesting mineworkers at Marikana mine in Rustenburg.

Public Service Minister Lindiwe Sisulu also answered questions submitted by Alberts.

He had asked her what security measures were in place at the time.

Sisulu replied that the website had a firewall and network intrusion protection, malware inspection and antivirus software.

It also had an inverse proxy, which took requests from the internet and forwarded them to servers in an internal network.

“Those making requests connect to the proxy and may not be aware of the internal network, and it helps to protect the internal network from intrusions,” Sisulu said.

The website application was developed in 2004/05 and there were no external contractors involved in its maintenance.

Sisulu said the increasing sophistication of cyber-criminals had resulted in a race to implement security measures ahead of attacks.

She said Sita had scanned its websites for vulnerabilities and a process had been underway since February this year to address these vulnerabilities.

“This is unfortunately a tedious process as it requires the redevelopment of large portions of the application.” – Sapa