SA Cops paid 'R90m to stay at home'

The SAPS has spent R90-million on salaries to police officers suspended on full pay over the past three years.

This includes a senior superintendent who has been suspended for 638 days.

The information came to light as a result of parliamentary questions posed by DA safety and security spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard to safety and security minister Charles Nqakula.

This comes after the controversial continued employment of police Constable Albert Phoshoko, who was found guilty by the Khayelitsha Magistrate's Court last week on a charge of indecent assault for fondling a woman's genitals just after she had been gang-raped.

Commenting on Phoshoko's resumption of his duties, provincial police spokesperson Andre Traut said Phoshoko had been suspended for four months while facing an internal disciplinary hearing, which, contrary to the court ruling, found him not guilty.

Traut said that unless Phoshoko received a prison sentence without the option of a fine, he need not be dismissed from the police force.

The Khayelitsha magistrate's court handed down a R10 000 fine, R3 000 of which was to be paid immediately, with the balance payable by October 31.

Although the SAPS indicated that Phoshoko would face a further inquiry to determine whether he was fit to remain on the force, a call to the Khayelitsha Police Station on Monday showed he was still at work.

In a statement released on Sunday, Kohler Barnard said the SAPS needed to "get their own house in order" if they were to fight crime.

This kind of behaviour was a disincentive for members of the public to lodge complaints against police members, or even report crimes, she said.

Kohler Barnard said that in response to questions posed in parliament, Nqakula had re-vealed some of the outcomes of 31 disciplinary hearings where the members had returned to active duty. These included members who had been charged with murder, rape, corruption and armed robbery. - West Cape News