- Former Crime Intelligence head Peter Jacobs has notched up another court victory against National Commissioner Khehla Sitole.
- Jacobs faced disciplinary action for his alleged failure to act on warnings that Charl Kinnear's life was in danger.
- On Tuesday, the Johannesburg Labour court interdicted the police from moving forward with the process.
Former Crime Intelligence boss Peter Jacobs has chalked up another court victory against top cop Khehla Sitole, this time with an interdict which bars the police from concluding disciplinary action related to the murder of Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear.
Labour Court Judge Edwin Tlhotlhalemaje handed down the order in chambers on Tuesday, after lawyers for both reached common ground.
Jacobs, ousted from his seat as spy chief in March, faced an expeditious disciplinary inquiry on misconduct charges earlier this month.
This for his alleged failure to act on a warning that underworld actors illegally tracked Kinnear’s phone and his life was in danger, two weeks before he was murdered in September last year.
"My troubles with the SAPS began shortly after making protected disclosures to Deputy National Commissioner [Francinah] Vuma. Ever since then, I have been suspended, faced two disciplinary hearings, and been demoted from my post," he added.
Jacobs maintained he was persecuted for whistleblowing.
He contended that he was on leave when he received the warning about Kinnear and could not be held responsible.
News24 previously reported that on 4 September last year, an informant warned police that Zane Kilian – who worked as a debt collector and private investigator while registered as neither – had been conducting illegal surveillance on Kinnear and his team members using shadowy cellphone tracking technology.
By 7 September, a report centred on Kilian’s surveillance had reached Lincoln, Jacobs, and Hawks boss Godfrey Lebeya. Despite the early herald, the spying continued unabated.
Kinnear – without protection – would eventually be killed.
In March, Jacobs successfully stayed a similar disciplinary process against him for a PPE procurement scandal, holding he was being hounded out on trumped-up charges for exposing criminality that had crept into police ranks.
"The allegations regarding the irregular use of the Secret Service Account to purchase PPE for Crime Intelligence were baseless … [and] these new charges related to the assassination of Kinnear are plainly retaliatory," he said in his papers.
The Labour court originally interdicted Sitole and the police from "proceeding or instituting any internal disciplinary enquiry" and ordered that the matter is arbitrated by the Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council (SSSBC).
The latest order in Jacobs’ favour follows suit.
It is likely that the SSSBC will now hear both matters.
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