Padayachee tells Madlanga Commission Mokwele was arrested over alleged future offence, IOL reports

According to IOL, IDAC senior investigator Brian Padayachee told the Madlanga Commission that SAPS Brigadier Dineo Mokwele was arrested and charged over an alleged crime that investigators believed she would commit in the future.

Why investigators invoked Section 27

Padayachee conceded during his testimony that investigators could not say when the alleged offence would occur. He told the commission that the uncertainty over timing was the reason investigators invoked Section 27 of the National Prosecuting Authority Act during the inquiry.

Padayachee said:

“We do not know when that would be, but because we don’t know, that’s precisely the problem.”

Questions from the commission

Commissioners pressed investigators on how they could lawfully arrest and charge someone for conduct they said had not yet happened. Co-commissioner Sesi Baloyi criticised the approach, asking how arrest warrants and prosecutions could be pursued while investigators admitted they did not know whether the alleged offence would ever occur.

Baloyi told the commission:

“You formulated a charge, obtained a warrant of arrest, had people arrested and brought before the court, yet many months later you are saying, ‘We don’t know. Maybe she was going to do it in the future.’ It cannot be right that this became the basis on which you instituted this prosecution and secured a warrant of arrest.”

Timeline questions and related charges

According to IOL, Mokwele is charged alongside Crime Intelligence head, Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo, and several co-accused over her appointment to a senior brigadier post in the SAPS Technical Support Services (TSS) unit.

The commission heard that court documents listed the alleged offence as having occurred in October 2024, despite Mokwele signing her employment contract in December 2024 and her appointment officially taking effect on 1 November 2024. Co-commissioner Advocate Sandile Khumalo questioned how investigators concluded an offence involving the acceptance of gratification had occurred before key employment steps were finalised.

Qualifications and suitability for the post

According to IOL, the commission was told the SAPS TSS unit recruited specialised technical expertise rather than a traditional career police officer. Submissions presented said Mokwele’s qualifications in mechatronics and industrial engineering, and her experience as an engineer at BMW, made her well-suited for the position.

Legal representatives informed the commission that the South African Qualifications Authority had verified Mokwele’s qualifications. According to IOL, Mokwele holds a National Diploma in Mechatronics Engineering and a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering.

Ongoing testimony

According to IOL, Padayachee previously struggled to explain the decision to arrest Khumalo and his co-accused. He is expected to continue his testimony before the Madlanga Commission.