JOHANNESBURG – The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is disputing claims made by its ethics manager about the disastrous state of its KwaZulu-Natal office.

Amar Maharaj told the Moerane commission in August that the branch was dysfunctional and cases were being closed irregularly.

Now, the police watchdog’s head of investigations has testified in response at the commission, which is probing political violence in KwaZulu-Natal.

READ: Damning testimony against IPID at Moerane Commission

Matthews Sesoko said: “If he had taken time to consult management or even those that manage investigators to explain these concepts to him then he would have understood these things. But in his haste probably to embarrass the department he decided to make these conclusions.”

Sesoko was accompanied by Ipid executive director Robert McBride and other senior officials.

While they maintain Maharaj misled the commission, they concede that more can be done to improve the workflow at the provincial office.

“In our view Mr Maharaj has not conducted himself in accordance with our prescripts,” said Sesoko

Asked if he said this with a view to taking disciplinary measures against him, Sesoko said that was a possibility.

READ: Police Commissioner talks Ipid and propaganda

Ipid has previously come under fire from witnesses at the commission, for allegedly dragging its feet in relation to police brutality at Glebelands hostel.

However, Sesoko pointed out only four cases had been registered between 2013 and 2016 – and some delays were beyond investigators’ control.

The police watchdog told the commission it is struggling with a lack of resources and an inadequate budget, but insisted cases are not being neglected.

“We can assure the public that everything we do is to ensure that this remains the institution that is seen to be fighting corruption within the police. When we started this organisation, we said we need to do our work so well that we work ourselves out of our jobs, so that the police are so clean that we are without a job,” said Sesoko.

Ipid has only 216 investigators, who deal with roughly 7,000 new cases a year, according to Sesoko.

“It does not appear to be a heavy workload. It appears to be maximum three new cases per investigator per month,” said Marumo Moerane, the commission chairperson.

But then there’s the backlog.

“There are people who have 246 cases, 238, 212, 162, so it will vary. But I think on average it is about 120 cases per investigator,” Sesoko told the commission.

Hearings continue on Thursday. 

eNCA