Colonel Johannes Manyathela – who was the acting station commissioner at Vosloorus police station at the time of Oupa Ramogibe’s death – said this at the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday as the third week of the inquiry into the death of Ramogibe continued.

During his cross-examination by Mdluli’s lawyer Ike Motloung, Manyathela admitted that thorough background checks are done on all prospective candidates before they ascend into higher ranks of the police force.

He agreed when Motloung said: “A promotion doesn’t go through if something is wrong.”

But Motloung said Manyathela believed Mdluli was a criminal based purely on a conversation he had with three members of the Ramogibe family the day after the murder.

Last Friday, Manyathela had told the court he believed the Ramogibes when they told him that Mdluli had threatened the deceased and was therefore clearly the one behind his death.

But on Monday, Manyathela conceded he was not a witness to the crime and he knows nothing about the murder.

He disagreed with Motloung who said that if he had suspected Mdluli of the crime in 1999, he should have submitted a statement at the time saying so, otherwise he should be charged with neglecting his duties and failing to report a suspected crime.

Manyathela only wrote a police statement last year.

No recollection

Manyathela said he was under the impression an impartial detective had been put on the case and would handle the matter, and he had already alerted East Rand area commissioner Leonard van Tonder of the Ramogibes’ suspicions.

But in a statement read out in court, Van Tonder said he had no recollection of the Ramogibe murder case and does not remember liaising with Manyathela in any way with regards to the matter.

Clearly taking strain, Manyathela requested “a five minute break”.

On his return, he said was neither fearful nor intimidated by Mdluli and personally had no knowledge of a so-called “Mdluli gang”.

Before proceedings were adjourned for the day, Limpopo’s divisional commissioner Benny Ntlemeza told the court the resuscitation of Ramogibe’s murder case was a clear plot to prevent Mdluli from taking over the reins as head of crime intelligence.

Ntlemeza will continue testifying on Tuesday.

The inquest is set to determine whether criminal charges should be re-lodged against Mdluli and his former co-accused Colonel Nkosana Ximba, Liutenant Colonel Mtunzi-Omhle Mtuzni and Warrant Officer Samuel Dlomo.

This story was first published by the Mail & Guardian Online on September 17 2012.

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