General Goss on the left, and Brigadier Mlenga on the right, giving evidence at the Khayelitsha Commission. The two men look uncomfortable as Advocate Bawa asks about Brigadier Mlenga’s disciplinary record. Photo by Adam Armstrong.
25 March 2014
Testimony at the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into policing continued on Monday 24 March with Brigadier Mlenga and General Goss. Mlenga wrote in his affidavit to the commission “people are living as animals”.
Brigadier Mlenga was the station commander of Khayeltisha Site B Police Station between 2008 and 2011, and General Goss served as the Khayelitsha cluster commander from 2009 to 2011.
Mlenga, in his written affidavit, had stated when speaking of the hardships of Khayelitsha, that the “people are living as animals”.
In his cross-examination Adv Hathorn said although living conditions in Khayelitsha are dire, the brigadier’s statement was offensive and should be withdrawn. The Brigadier defended himself but ultimately withdrew the statement.
Advocate Nazreen Bawa, evidence leader for the commission, paraphrased the evidence of the two police officers as “we have successfully combated crime in Khayelitsha between 2008 and 2011”.
But Bawa’s cross-examination of Mlenga disclosed that he had 50 charges brought against him. Specifics of the charges were not given, though they seemed to be for poor or negligent performance by the brigadier of his duties in his role as Site B Station Commander.
One of the charges brought against him was for shotgun ammunition missing from the armory; another was for drugs missing from the Police Station. The man sitting next to him for two hours of joint testimony, General Goss, was the man who had brought the charges against the brigadier. Mlenga was transferred to Wynberg as part of departmental steps against him.
Neither Mlenga nor Goss could provide the details as to the nature of the charges against Mlenga, or the actions taken in response. Goss stated that he had instituted the charges because SAPS is serious about service delivery in Khayelitsha.
Bawa juxtaposed these charges with the evidence submitted by the two men, that crime prevention was effective in Khayelitsha. She asked, how it was, given these 50 charges and the departmental transfer, that Goss and Mlenga had successfully combated crime in Khayelitsha. Mlenga had been charged with 50 incidents – all seeming to pertain to service delivery and effective management.
The tension in the room dissipated as Adv Bawa moved on to other issues.