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Philippi Police Academy whistle-blower suspended after speaking out on R114m budget

Philippi Police Academy whistle-blower suspended after speaking out on R114m budget
Ian Cameron (DA Candidate) at a media briefing on police reform outside Randburg Magistrate's Court on May 08, 2024 in Randburg, South Africa. The media briefing discussed recent revelations regarding the closure of 5 million SAPS case dockets in 5 years and the dire state of 10111 call centers, and also addressed the issue of criminality in the police and the lack of action from police management to deal with it appropriately. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)
Vincent Cruywagen
By Vincent Cruywagen
21 Nov 2024
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A whistle-blower who revealed alleged misconduct at the Philippi Police Academy in Cape Town has been suspended, leading to questions in Parliament over how the police are handling the case.

A whistle-blower who revealed alleged misconduct at the Philippi Police Academy in Cape Town, involving an R114-million academy budget and no financial audits, was suspended without pay on Tuesday, 19 November 2024.

The suspension of the whistle-blower was among key issues discussed by the parliamentary police committee on Wednesday, 20 November.

The Philippi Police Academy is a vital institution in terms of training police recruits. The passing-out parade for recruits at the South African Police Service (SAPS) academy took place in October. The parade marked the completion of basic training for 559 new constables who are part of Project 10,000, a police recruitment initiative.

The question of alleged corruption at the Philippi Police Academy was high on the agenda on Wednesday after the parliamentary committee conducted an oversight visit to Philippi in September.

That visit revealed that since mid-2018, under the current leadership of the Philippi Training Academy, more than R114-million had been allocated to the academy, including more than R100-million for meals for basic student training, R8-million for meals for qualified police officers undergoing in-service training, and R6-million for the tuck shop.

Read more: The deepening crisis of trust in South African policing

Despite these substantial sums of money, there have allegedly been no financial audits undertaken at the academy for the past six years. Other allegations investigated included the rape of a female police trainee, claims of drug sales within the academy, claims of allowing members of the public to rent SAPS equipment, and the alleged theft of three SAPS-issued firearm magazines by a police sergeant.

Responding to the serious allegations against the Philippi Police Academy, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said of the forensic criminal investigation: “It has been with us for some time. Philippi has not been good to SAPS at all, and I take it we are now part of on our way to turn the negatives to positives to the best of our ability going forward.

“But we appreciated the intervention of the portfolio committee and we should be overcoming the problem.”

Read more: SA Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on a mission to modernise policing to tackle ‘intolerable’ crime

Whistle-blower suspended without pay


cameron philippi police Ian Cameron, National Assembly chairperson of the parliamentary committee on police. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)



On Wednesday, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), or the Hawks, provided a progress report on the issue but were surprised when the DA’s Ian Cameron told the committee about the whistle-blower who had been suspended without pay.

“In terms of the complainant, on Tuesday, he was suspended without pay for two months. If this is how we are going to deal with the good people in the police that speak out against corruption then we are not protecting whistle-blowers.

“Someone speaks out against corruption and it takes six years for the police and Hawks to do something. How do you expect us to take this investigation seriously?” Cameron asked.

DPCI deputy national head Lieutenant General Siphosihle Nkosi, giving an update on the forensic investigation at the academy, said the complainant who blew the whistle on the alleged fraud and corruption had been interviewed and a statement obtained.

The whistle-blower said affidavits had been taken from 19 witnesses.

“The DPCI has allocated a few members to attend to the matter. Our internal audit [unit] with the SAPS is working on a full-scale audit. Once they finalise the report, it will enable us to determine whether there are any criminal activities that can surely be confirmed and taken to court.

“We have an allocated prosecutor who [has] seen the current statements and advised that we must wait for the outcome of the internal audit,” he told the committee.

Read more: Fixing the SAPS a critical priority, otherwise government won’t meet its other objectives

The scope of the audit, according to Nkosi, was between 2018 and 2022, which had been informed by the complainant’s claims.

Cameron questioned him about a sergeant who allegedly stole firearm magazines a few years ago, and whether it had been reported to the commander of the college or the police.

He also raised the issue of a shooting incident a few weeks ago when a commander allegedly tried to challenge another. Shots were allegedly fired and one collapsed.

Lisa Schickerling, DA spokesperson on police, expressed her concern, saying that after the parliamentary committee’s visit, Nkosi had supplied no new information.

The DA’s Dianne Kohler Barnard asked Nkosi what steps had been taken to protect the confidentiality of people providing evidence. According to reports, those who were to provide evidence were summoned over loudhailers, which she said made them targets.

“I don’t think that you have done anything to protect those who are making accusations or acting as witnesses,” she said. 

The committee also heard that the accused were able to observe witnesses enter the offices and provide statements to the Hawks.

Nkosi said the Hawks had taken note of the additional information, suspended the whistle-blower, and would follow up. He didn’t elaborate on the suspension. He said that with the 19 affidavits acquired by SAPS, there was still insufficient evidence to proceed with the case in court.

Nkosi said he was unaware that the witnesses had been briefed together, adding that they should have been separated to give their versions of events.

Cameron said, “On the one side, there is a channel that truly fights back against corruption and extortion. In this situation, there is either a lack of interest or an intentional pushback because no action is taken.”

Daily Maverick sent follow-up questions on the whistle-blower’s suspension to the Hawks and national SAPS, but had not received a reply at the time of publication. DM

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