OUT: Lieutenant General Khomotso Phahlane's dismissal from SAPS upheld by Labour Appeal Court
The Labour Appeal Court has upheld the 2020 dismissal of former acting national police commissioner Lieutenant General Khomotso Phahlane,
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
The Labour Appeal Court has upheld the 2020 dismissal of former acting national police commissioner Lieutenant General Khomotso Phahlane, dealing a decisive blow to his bid to return to the South African Police Service.
Phahlane had approached the court in an attempt to overturn his firing and secure reinstatement, arguing that his dismissal was unfair, but the appeal court dismissed his challenge and confirmed that his removal from the South African Police Service was lawful.
He was dismissed in July 2020 after being found guilty of dishonest conduct and bringing the SAPS into disrepute, following disciplinary proceedings linked to procurement processes during his tenure as head of forensic services.
Phahlane served as acting national police commissioner after the suspension of his predecessor and was once regarded as a key figure in the SAPS leadership, before his career unravelled amid allegations of corruption and misconduct.
Last month, IOL reported that Phahlane denied that he was removed from office because of corruption, telling Parliament that his suspension by the then police minister Fikile Mbalula was unlawful and baseless.
Testifying before Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating police corruption in Cape Town, Phahlane said the widely held view that he was forced out over graft allegations was misleading and inaccurate.
Instead, he painted a picture of a rushed, informal and legally baseless decision taken by Mbalula at the height of damaging media coverage.
Phahlane told MPs he was summoned to Cape Town in 2017 after receiving a call from Mbalula’s office instructing him to travel to meet the minister.
He said no reasons were provided in advance. Upon arrival, he waited for more than three hours before being ushered into a meeting that lasted less than five minutes.
According to Phahlane, Mbalula did not raise specific charges or provide written instructions. Instead, the minister asked whether it would not be better for him to “step aside” given the “negativity in the media”.
“I agreed, because I’m not glued to any position,” Phahlane told the committee. “But I knew very well that only the President of the Republic has the authority to remove or suspend a national police commissioner.”
Phahlane said the instruction was illegal, as it was not authorised by the president, as required by the Constitution and the SAPS Act.
He said he was given no clarity on what “stepping aside” meant, no formal suspension letter and no guidance on handing over power.
“I asked two questions: who do I hand over to, and what does stepping aside mean?” he said. “The answer was simply: ‘Go home.’”
At the time, Phahlane was under investigation linked to a “blue lights” tender and allegations of procurement irregularities involving panoramic camera contracts.
Phahlane told MPs that never even procured the devices.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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