Gauteng traffic police chief inspector Samuel Mashaba had trouble answering questions at the Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry on Friday.
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The Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry expressed its frustration with the evasive answers given by Gauteng traffic police chief inspector Samuel Mashaba during his testimony on Friday.
Mashaba continued giving evidence at the commission chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga on the July 2021 drug bust in Aeroton, Johannesburg, where over 715kg of cocaine with a street value of R300 million was seized.
The inquiry has heard that after the seizure of the drugs transported by truck to Johannesburg were allegedly shipped from Brazil and led to Mashaba’s arrest and two other members of the SA Police Service, who later lodged a complaint with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.
Evidence leader Advocate Lee Seeguls-Ncube asked Mashaba about an exchange of messages from a person identified as “EB boss” on WhatsApp or “Alpha” on Threema forwarded to him by businessman Tumelo Nku, who he claimed was an informant.
Seeguls-Ncube quizzed Mashaba about a photo he sent to Nku that could not be retrieved and which she suggested was of car keys.
In one of the messages, Mashaba is informed that there is an investigating officer who does not want to “play game”.
“If I may ask, is it (BMW) car keys?” Mashaba questioned.
Justice Madlanga laughed off Mashaba’s response, saying: “We want to find out from you. You were the person that was communicating.”
He continued: “I must tell you, your ‘I do not recall’ refrain has become tired a long time ago. It’s quite a tired refrain by now, you were talking so you are the one who should know and therefore you should respond to commissioner (Sesi) Baloyi.”
Mashaba said it bothered him that Justice Madlanga knew that his answer would be “I don’t recall”.
In his response, he did not think there was any danger with the car keys and the investigating officer.
“You, Nku and EB boss were involved in a transaction that included car keys that were with an investigating officer, possibly as an exhibit, and you wanted those keys to be released. You have the picture of the keys and you say you will speak to the investigating officer,” Baloyi told Mashaba, accusing him of attempting to influence the investigating officer to release the keys at the behest of Nku.
Mashaba said he considered Nku as his brother and would always try to assist him. “I know on many things he relies on me, especially police issues,” he said.
According to Mashaba, if, for instance, there was an investigating officer who was giving Nku difficulties he would try and talk to the investigating officer and say “die, is my laaitie (This is my boy)”.
Baloyi also asked Mashaba if he accepted that it would be improper to ask an investigating officer to release the car keys, which are an exhibit, even if it were his biological brother. Mashaba said he accepted.
Earlier on Friday, Mashaba was forced to admit that his claim that the person he referred to as “DD” on Thursday was not the late former deputy president David Mabuza and instead late ex-deputy defence and military veterans Kebby Maphatsoe.
When taken through the sequence of events and Mabuza’s appointment as the country’s second in-command, Mashaba accepted that “DD” was a reference to Mabuza.
Mashaba had told Nku, a relative of Maphatsoe, to note that Mabuza was back as the country’s deputy president and that they must move “on issues”.
Justice Madlanga asked: “Do you accept that the person you are referring to is the late (former) deputy president David Mabuza?”
“I will have to accept because I was talking about what he used to call … My apologies, I accept,” Mashaba responded.
He had claimed on Thursday that reference to DD being back was his return to the country and not as a member of Parliament.