DRAFT COPY

“You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say that you did not know.” – William Wilberforce

Free in the Public Interest. Download the first book about Democratic Alliance corruption:
'Same Shit, Different Government' pdf (2756 downloads)

I’m Mike Hampton, am an anti-corruption activist. This document summarises my fight against the crimes of the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The DA is too powerful. I have failed to get justice since 2010. I have long expected to be silenced. Although I’ve defied the odds, I expect my time has run out, and that I will be imprisoned, silenced by a conspiracy involving those I’ve exposed. I emphasise that this is a conspiracy and not a “theory” as Helen Zille told Twitter. As she’s implicated, it’s expected that she would lie. My next court date is 10 March 2021.

I have updated and expanded the original summary in a final effort to get attention. My primary focus is the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) whom COGTA requested step in, and Minister Justice Ronald Lamola who is the boss of several agencies protecting the DA.

Media bias has refused to report on the DA where it matters.

1. Corruption is Our War
2. My Arrest
3. DA Corruption Examples
4. National Government’s Collusion & Accountability Failure
5. Intimidation Quotes
6. Intimidation Examples
7. Court Orders Against Me
8. These Organisations Refused Assistance
9. Bad Cops
10. Download Evidence
11. Day Hunger Strike
12. Conclusion
13. References

1. CORRUPTION IS OUR WAR

Corruption should be South Africa’s most important war, but laziness and apathy have killed the possibility of an army of doers. Us activists are rare. And we’re fewer against the crimes of the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The DA is our country’s biggest opposition party. They’re in charge of Tshwane, the capital, the Western Cape province, and various small municipalities. They’re meant to be representatives to approximately 10 million people which is greater than the population of Israel, Switzerland or Hong Kong.

The persistent lie is that they’re an exception to the corruption of National Government run by the African National Congress (ANC). It’s a lie that they and their allies have fought to protect. They market themselves as a good governance alternative. The reality is fraud, theft, cronyism, sedition, intimidation, conspiracy and an associated assassination.

It’s my belief that there are no political parties, only shifting factions out of the Public eye. However, I maintain the labelling here because it would be too difficult to explain this any other way, and because the bulk involves people who label themselves as “DA politicians” and “DA supporters”.

National Government has protected DA corruption through cover-up, intimidation and lethargy so pervasive that it must be deliberate. There are open processes with the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Co-operative Governance (COGTA) and South African Police Service (SAPS). Although I’ve yet to be contacted, I’m told that my situation and evidence have been referred to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), our top police team. I’ve learnt to count on nothing.

Chapter 9s have deliberately failed their Constitutional duty. Legal Aid, the Office of the Public Protector (OPP) and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) are disgraced.

‘Justice NGOs’, funded by overseas liberal organisations, the ideology the DA represents, have looked the other away. The legal fraternity has favoured DA criminals. Mainstream Media has refused to report the full story. My book was simply excluded whilst books against the DA’s enemies were exalted.

Rot claws deep into our society.

The citizens of the Western Cape have been abandoned.

I’ve been persecuted, and there appears to be no escape.

2. MY ARREST

By publishing my book, ‘Same Shit, Different Government’, I broke an interdict that is 1 of the 10 DA-related cases against me. Those cases and other legal threats were part of a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). South Africa doesn’t have anti-SLAPP laws yet which means those with power and wealth can squash Truth and truthseekers.

In 2019, the Western Cape High Court ordered the Sheriff to arrest me. My Legal Practice Council pro bono lawyer, Carol Speirs, dropped me on 26 October 2020. She lied about why she did so. LPC Director Frank Dorey has refused to respond.

The Cape Bar is compromised too. Previous Chair Tanja Golden protected Advocate Julie Seton who is the DA’s main figure in the campaign against me. The interdict weapon was granted to her married partner, the DA’s ex-Deputy Mayor of Knysna.

Consequently, the DA may soon silence me with imprisonment. That would be against the Public interest and fulfil the promise made by the DA’s Dr Martin Young in 2016: “You seem not to realize that you are in no position to negotiate. I’m surprised you even tried. We hold all the cards, and have all the power to make your life really and truly miserable… jail is more than likely your next Knysna destination.”

If that happens, I’ll ironically become be a political prisoner incarcerated by criminals. I’ll return to hunger strike because that will be all that I’ll have left.

Helen Zille, I’m true to my word, “I will never let this go!”

3. DA CORRUPTION EXAMPLES

These are samples of DA-related corruption I’ve been fighting:

1. Premier Alan Winde must be held accountable for the private companies, across the Western Cape, that are/were funded with Public funds despite no tender processes. In the case of Knysna Tourism, a section 21 company, an expensive, municipal procured, legal opinion by Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Attorneys found that it was irregular to do so, more so because of the conflict of interest created by politicians on the Board of Directors. I had been arguing that for years. Instead, they received another million. That amount was further fraudulent when then DA Mayor Eleanore Spies and then Municipal Manager Kam Chetty backdated the approval. Then, WESGRO, headed by an ex-DA MP, took over the Knysna contract. The previous (approximately) R50-million in irregular funding has been ignored, no one punished. The figure will be in the hundreds of millions if similar situations Western Cape are tallied. This happened under Winde as MEC Tourism, now promoted to Premier. Winde, like Zille, is aware of the DA’s intimidation campaign against me. That it continues means that it has his approval.
2. In August 2018, the R600,000 De Swardt Vogel & Myambo investigation found, among other crimes, that Mayor Eleanore Spies had used taxpayers funds to pay for personal lawyers against me, and that she, Municipal Manager Kam Chetty and Legal Adviser Melony Paulsen, had fraudulently backdated the Municipal Manager’s contract so as to try legitimise the aforementioned payment to Knysna Tourism. After an investigation by the Hawks, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute. No reason has been made public. However, the investigation was obviously another farce in the DA’s favour because I was never interviewed. To remove Mayor Spies from the scandal, she was promoted to Speaker for the Garden Route District Municipality which presides over Knysna. She and her husband, Rowan Spies, are protected.
3. It is alleged that when Eleanore Spies was the ANC Mayor of Knysna, she was a spy for the DA. That seems plausible considering that the DA buried an in-depth investigation into her husband, Rowan Spies, for graft. It included money paid into their shared account that he lied about. When I revealed that Mazar’s report, Mazar’s threatened to sue me. Later, I received a related, damning affidavit against Rowan for fraud. Eleanore became DA Speaker. The Spies got divorced which was bizarre considering they still lived together, attended political functions together, did Valentine’s together. That was explained with her becoming DA Mayor and he a District DA Councillor. After attending rehab for alcoholism, he was promoted to the Mayoral Committee where she joined him after her corruption scandal. Soon thereafter, she was promoted to the National Assembly.
4. The ISDF was supposed to decide the future of Knysna for 30 years. Allegedly it was a test case for the Western Cape. The first tender in the process was awarded to a property tender consortium that never won it. Western Cape MEC Local Government Anton Bredell, who is also the Chair of the Western Cape DA, gave the go-ahead for the tender despite having signed for a damning report undertaken by Provincial Treasury and his own department. He then lied about it, on video, in the Legislature, claiming that three arms of government that I’d approached had cleared it when none had. Bredell ignored the threat by the DA against me that was read out by ANC MP Richard Dyanti. Dyanti was only grandstanding, having never acted despite me contacting him many times.
5. I laid complaint against Bredell for perjury with Sharna Fernandez. She acknowledged it but never acted, she and Bredell then appeared high on the DA’s provincial lists in 2019.
6. In 2020, I exposed a secret recording of Anton Bredell seditiously plotting to take control of Oudtshoorn. He was illegally going to use his powers as MEC Local Government to favour the DA. Premier Winde has defended him, and Zille has failed to address my complaint. Instead, in November, Bredell was promoted. He is now both MEC and one of the three Deputy Chairs of the DA Federal Council.
7. I exposed the unlawful appointment of Dawie Adonis as Director Community Services. After a long period, during the Great Knysna Fire crisis, the DA allowed him to be transferred out of the limelight into a previously part-time position where he allegedly received the same annual million-rand salary million pay. He is related to the possible cronyistic appointments of Fire Chief Clinton Manuel and Fire Station Commander Wayne Sternsdorf. Additionally, Knysna Municipality failed to act on my complaints against Adonis for alleged graft and the gross undervaluing of his house which lessened his rates.
8. The Great Knysna Fire killed 8 people, destroyed a thousand buildings, disrupted the economy and the lives of many citizens, and led to R480-million in litigation. That amount should be over R3-billion but the Knysna Municipality, fronted by Fire Chief Clinton Manuel, and backed by Mayor Eleanore Spies and Municipal Manager Kam Chetty, issued a fraudulent report. I protested the lie. Fire Chief Manuel threatened me, but the Knysna Municipality refused to act on the complaint. Instead, Manuel got a job with the DA-led City of Cape Town which was ironic since he’d gotten his job in Knysna after leaving a scandal there. Zille failed to act on my Great Knysna Fire Complaint. Western Cape Government Head Graham Paulse failed too, also with my complaint to him against Zille.
9. The DA’s Knysna coalition partner, Velile Waxa, is the prime suspect in organising the assassination of Knysna ANC Chief Whip Victor Molosi on 23 July 2018. Protests led to major disruptions of the town and the N2 which is the road connecting South Africa’s East coast. The political climate before that was disturbing. DA Councillor Peter Myers, allegedly on instructions from DA East Region Manager Jaco Londt (who in turn would’ve been instructed by someone higher up), secretly contributed to ex-ANC Waxa’s councillor’s election campaign, for him to run as an Independent in an overwhelmingly ANC ward. Waxa, a controversial figure feared by some, became the DA’s partner even though they had three softer options to choose from. Waxa then publicly threatened a female citizen and was caught illegally interfering in a tender. The DA delayed the case for a year, MEC Bredell involved. When it looked like they had no choice but to proceed, Waxa blackmailed Mayor Spies with a Motion of No Confidence that she might have lost. He dropped it after she hired his niece, Priscilla September, to be her personal assistant. The job wasn’t advertised, it was blackmail paid. In December 2019, I testified against Waxa, providing his motive for masterminding the assassination. He and two accomplices were convicted.

Helen Zille and the DA Federal Executive have repeatedly received my evidence yet done nothing. The interests of the DA are more important than the interests of the Public.

Unfortunately, the ANC, ACDP, COPE and FF+ are also aware of the DA’s corruption yet have failed to act. In some matters, there’s collusion.

4. NATIONAL GOVERNMENT’S COLLUSION & ACCOUNTABILITY FAILURE

Despite 3 hearings, in Parliament (NCOP), my petition remains unfinished after 4 years. It’s known as the ‘Love Knysna Petition’ and can be partly referenced via the Parliamentary Monitoring Group Previous Chair Thandi Modise failed to respond to my complaint. NCOP, in 2019, asked for the Public Protector to report back but she didn’t. I’m concerned that in Dr Mimmy Gondwe, the researcher into my complaint about the Select Committee Petitions & Executive Undertakings, became a DA staff member of the National Assembly. Considering the evidence in her possession, why would she take a job from a corrupt party?

Around the same time, the Western Cape Hawks (represented by Colonel van der Berg), and the George Office of the Public Protector (represented by Senior Investigator Gideon Landman), whitewashed their reports into my complaints. They ignored the intimidation I’ve suffered, forensic reports and Auditor General statements. It was so blatantly done that it could have only been a deliberate attempt at furthering the cover-up and protecting the DA. My complaint to Minister Police Bheki Cele, Hawks Head General Godfrey Lebeya and Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane have been ignored despite their senior staff being aware.

The Hawks case number is Cape Town OC 19.07.2018. The little that was recommended for investigation was never attended to. The investigating officer, Colonel Christelle Stemmet, was the same age as me when she committed suicide in 2019. No one has spoken to me about the case in the past 2 years.

The previous Western Cape Manager of the Public Protector, Advocate Ruthen Janse van Rensburg, is the person I believe squashed the initial complaints against the ISDF tender and Tourism funding in 2013. He received a job in then Premier Helen Zille’s office as Head of the Forensic Investigation Unit (FIU) which was renamed the Provincial Forensic Services (PFS). I believe he’s still it under Premier Alan Winde’s command.

SALGA’s management wanted to make me a test case for Government suing a citizen, that after the DA invited them to make an unannounced presentation to the Knysna Council. This was an extension of me having exposed DA Mayor Eleanore Spies for illegally using taxpayers’ money to fund her legal threats against me. Notably, DA Speaker Georlene Wolmarans was on SALGA’s provincial committee. SALGA then threatened to sue me directly for defamation when I pointed our the corruption they were supporting. They first did so through an internal lawyer, and then the infamous Hogan Lovells Attorneys.

The Presidency eventually but wrongly referred my complaint to COGTA Minister Zweli Mkhize who could have dealt with part of it but did nothing despite his assistant stating four times over 5 months that the matter would be urgently brought to his attention.

The prequel to that was COGTA Deputy Minister Andries Nel refusing to act. The refusal of assistance (diversion to SIU and the Public Protector) was out of touch with the information sent e.g. COGTA has a mandate regards local government and a racist COGTA employee wanting whites killed was part of the complaint.

Later, the Presidency referred to Ministry Justice and IPID. Justice referred it back to the Presidency, claiming it needed guidance because the complaint crossed too many departments.

Director President’s Hotline Melisizwe Bleki met with an advocate from the Presidency but she failed to act and Bleki would not follow-up. Bleki also would not reveal what happened in a meeting that the President’s adviser set up.

The Magistrates Commission, for no reason, would not act on my complaint regarding political favouritism by the court. The Knysna Magistrates Court has been excessively favourable to the DA-linked complainants against me. There have been abnormalities in every case which has meant to silence me e.g. in one case, despite having a 75-page affidavit and approximately 200 pages of evidence, I was refused defence and found guilty in minutes. In another involving Advocate Julie Seton, the Magistrate refused me entry into the Court so that I could be on the record. She found me guilty via email. Her judgement, as usual, never referred to my evidence and never mentioned the DA.

5. INTIMIDATION QUOTES

I have thousands of screenshots but this will highlight the colour and motive of the DA’s heart.

1. “I have it on good authority that the DA are actively trying to get you out, by whatever means possible.”- Candace Myers (wife of then Knysna DA Chairperson Peter Myers who became the DA’s Deputy Mayor)
2. “Attention Hampton… You seem not to realize that you are in no position to negotiate. I’m surprised you even tried. We hold all the cards, and have all the power to make your life really and truly miserable… The moment it is out there that Louis’ Steakhouse supports you and enables you, there is bound to be a consequence to their business… We are an open consortium of all the people in Knysna you have ever dared to attack, now come together to make sure you pay handsomely for your activities. In addition, are wealthy businessmen and women who are prepared to pay to see it stopped. No names. You’ll probably never know. Feel better now? Jail is more than likely your next Knysna destination.”- Dr Martin Young (who became DA councillor the same year)
3. “Some officials are of the view that court action against you, with or without charge of criminal liability, might be a realistic solution to ensure that your ongoing defamatory action stops.” – Attorney Fiona Stewart on behalf of Premier Helen Zille, MEC Anton Bredell and MEC Alan Winde (all high-ranking DA members
4. “Ask him about his unnatural interest in children… especially boys! I have first-hand proof of this in my own home.” – Protecting Brand Knysna (DA propaganda page with Dr Martin Young as one of its main administrators)
5. “He’s been run out of Queensburgh and Pietermaritzburg, allegedly on account of the parents of young boys (and a few girls) becoming concerned about the undue attention he gives them.” – Baden Hall (friend of disgraced Knysna Tourism CEO and another administrator on the Protecting Brand Knysna page)
6. “His recent appeal for a child in need may also be a scam – a way to enrich himself.” – DA Knysna Deputy Mayor Peter Myers (commenting on my request for clothes and food for a homeless teen orphan)
7. “If only the people of Knysna stop enabling, he will have to pack his bags and go.”- Captain Dewald Kitching (Knysna Station, South African Police Service)
8. “We’ll meet in the street. That’s where the playing fields are levelled, on the street.” – Knysna Fire Chief Clinton Manuel

The opening pages of my book, which can be downloaded for free, include these and many others, with links to evidence of each.

6. INTIMIDATION EXAMPLES

Through my 2015 attorney, Hardy Mills, the DA offered us bribes to not pursue legal action. Mills claimed he’d get R100,000 in monthly business so long as the DA was in power, I’d receive R20,000 per month. I turned it down and vowed to fight harder. Mills vanished for several years but recently reappeared to defend ex-Knysna DA Mayor Eleanore Spies against the wife of a DA councillor in an opposing faction. Mills lost and Spies was ordered to pay back the money she’d borrowed but has allegedly failed to comply.

The DA initiated a multi-pronged, intimidation attack against me that included propaganda, intimidating supporters, destroying my income, SLAPPing me, threatening me and seeking my imprisonment.

A social media propaganda campaign falsely associated me with a mental disorder, destruction of the local economy, working for the ANC, child abuse a missing 9-year-old girl, Liyema Baleni. I uncovered that DA councillors, DA candidates, municipal contractors and their friends were the organisers of the anonymously run pages. Then DA Councillor Dr Martin Young, was one of the main offenders. He who treats ears not psychiatric patients, abused his doctor’s title to compile a fake diagnosis of me as a sociopath and a danger to children. That was used by DA candidate Advocate Julie Seton, the ringleader in most of the court cases against me.

The social media campaign intimidated locals. My hosting business, which was growing, dropped to almost nothing. I had to lessen then stop Love Knysna Projects, my educational trips for underprivileged children because my volunteers declined during the propaganda.

My subscribers would regularly receive legal threats. Advocate Seton and her life partner, ex-DA Deputy Mayor Esme Edge, tried to claim R1-million in damages from Mossel Bay resident, Brigit Maritz, who shared some of my posts and called me a ‘hero’. At one stage, Councillor Young threatened to sue 200 of my subscribers for R60-million. Ironically, many would’ve been citizens in Young’s ward.

Previously, as a DA candidate, Young went door to door to Knysna businesses, telling them to not deal with me, and implied that their businesses would be damaged if they did. He also asked them to donate money to a kitty to be used to jail me. This was repeated on Facebook and he was open about in a damning email to me (which can be found at the bottom of the page here).

DA candidates, councillors and their propagandist associates took me to court, obtaining numerous protection orders and an interdict I believe are illegal because the information in the Public interest is the defence I’ve been denied. I’ve been refused evidence and witnesses, and in one case wasn’t allowed to present a defence, and quickly found guilty. None of the judgements mention my evidence or the DA which is what my evidence is about. The Protection from Harassment Act, especially, is not supposed to be used by politicians to gag citizens.

The DA Federal Executive, many MPs and Helen Zille were repeatedly made aware of what was happening. That they never acted can only mean that the nefarious actions had their permission.

Helen Zille, MEC Anton Bredell and MEC Alan Winde (now Premier, threatened to sue me and hold me criminally liable for my accusations. Of course, they failed to discuss the accusations or the evidence. When I responded by listing the corruption and suggested that Zille meet me, she refused. That was unsurprising because all three are implicated.

The intimidation campaign against me has been enormous. It was at its peak when I attended the NCOP hearings in 2016. For example, in a 2-week period, an anonymous Twitter account and copywriters associated with the Municipality, tweeted 600 times against me.

When I exposed Mayor Eleanore Spies for having illegally contracted her friend, Fran Kirsten, to become the Communications manager for Knysna Municipality, she issued a press statement against me that was accompanied by Facebook propaganda for which I have approximately 100 screenshots

The DA has shown contempt for Parliament. Eleanore Spies lied to NCOP why she would not attend a 2016 hearing of my Love Knysna Petition. When she said she was working on the local budget, alone a poor excuse, she was campaigning with Mmusi Maimane 300km away. Previous DA Mayor Georlene Wolmarans only appeared on the third date, after the NCOP Chair threatened to arrest her.

Helen Zille, after she stepped down as Premier of the Western Cape, became Knysna’s Constituency representative. Alan Winde once filled the same role. Currently, it’s DA Federal Executive Finance Chair Dion George. I believe that this small town of 80,000 people receives this extraordinary attention because the DA needs to maintain cover-up as its leaders are implicated directly or indirectly (via PRECCA). Additionally, Knysna has extraordinarily wealthy people and valuable property.

Alan Winde (left), when MEC Tourism, would not act against DA propagandists such as Dr Martin Young (right). In fact, Winde complimented Young after his first post against me. Winde is now Premier, and has still failed to act against DA corruption. This can only mean that the persecution I’ve suffered is approved by Winde.

7. COURT ORDERS AGAINST ME

Our justice system has rotted. The people bullying me for exposing their corruption are being granted protection orders forbidding me mentioning their names. These are the 5 most recent ones. I broke them when I published my book.

1. DA Eleanore Spies and Rowan Spies (protection order): My allegations are backed by the De Swardt investigation procured by her own municipality. Additionally, the Western Cape Auditor General found her unadvertised contracting of her unqualified friend and political campaign manager, Fran Kirsten, as Communications Manager, to be irregular i.e. illegal.
2. DA Dr Martin Young (protection order): Prime figure in propaganda and bullying of me and citizens. Young was a defender of the DA’s corruption. When a candidate, he tagged Helen Zille and Alan Winde for his first major online post against. Winde congratulated him. He became a colleague of Esme Edge. He left Council in 2018.
3. Acting Fire Chief Wayne Sternsdorf (protection order): Neighbour of Advocate Julie Seton and Esme Edge. Order granted for me writing one fair article about his past background in Cape Town where he allegedly tied a noose around a black cadet’s neck and made him walk on all fours, barking like a dog. Sternsdorf quit during the disciplinary hearing and got a job in Knysna where Clinton Manuel, his friend and ex-boss, who’d also left Cape Town in scandal, was on the selection committee. Additionally, a fire was reported several times to Sternsdorf who chose not to act. Two months later that became the Great Knysna Fire. He kept silent when the DA and Municipality issued a fraudulent investigation, clearing themselves of responsibility. Sternsdorf was promoted to Acting Fire Chief for a year after Manuel returned to Cape Town. SAMWU marched against Manuel but the City of Cape Town wouldn’t listen.
4. DA Esme Edge (interdict): This is the High Court order giving me the most problems. I had no evidence submitted in this case thus couldn’t mount a defence. Nevertheless, Edge’s lawyers never appeared in 2016, my pro bono advocate informed me that the case was over and that I could blog. I blogged once about what had happened and was found guilty of contempt for three years. My lawyer got disbarred and the substitute lawyer never responded. In between, the Court folders were taken by an unidentified blonde woman, but the Court wouldn’t investigate. In 2019, when I posted a sample of my forthcoming book about DA corruption, Edge appealed to the Court who responded by ordering that the Sheriff arrest me, my website be shut down, and my book not published on or after 1 April 2019. Consequently, I published it online beforehand, giving it away for free. The order appeared to serve the DA rather than only the plaintiff. Judge Babalwa Mantane made generalised judgement, effectively not protecting just the applicant but the DA. She did so without having a copy of the book or the website. I was in Namibia when Court happened. Consequently, I’m being held in contempt too.
5. DA Advocate Julie Seton (protection order): She has also used the names Julie Lopes and Julie Jefferys. Was a DA candidate in 2016 but the opposing faction that Peter Myers ruled beat them. Allegedly she’s been a candidate three times. She and Edge appear to be behind all the court cases against me. They anonymously opened a Facebook page called Knysna Knews which pretended to act as its name by sharing other people’s posts. However, its original content promoted the DA and, primarily Edge. Mostly, it attempted to discredit me. When I proved their identities, they lied that it had never been secret. Seton also lied to the Cape Bar that she hadn’t represented Edge against me so that it seemed that she wasn’t in conflict of interest. I gained a protection order against her but the police wouldn’t act on her contraventions. Seton teamed up with Jaco Dercksen, a con artist I had exposed. Dercksen posted my father’s address on the internet, and Seton emailed me, threatening to criminally charge my innocent father for aiding and abetting.

For more, and summaries of ‘strange’ happenings in Court, read “Proof I Will Never Get a Fair Trial”.

8. THESE ORGANISATIONS REFUSED ASSISTANCE

This is an incomplete list of Chapter 9s and organisations that have denied me assistance even though there’s obviously a human rights issue, and that the issues I’ve presented affect the lives of many.

Several refusals happened in suspicious circumstances. The SAHRC lied. Legal Aid’s director threatened to sue me. The Cape Law Society took 13 months to provide me representation which failed to work on my case, then dropped me with a lie.

The DA is protected, directly and indirectly.

1. South African Human Rights Commission (Durban & Cape Town)
2. Legal Aid (KZN Director Andre Britz & Durban Manager Gerhard Volschenk, and the Western Cape before that).
3. Cape Law Society & Cape Bar
4. Legal Practice Council
5. Legal Resources Centre
6. org
7. Human Rights Watch (Southern Africa Director Dewa Mavhinga)
8. Corruption Watch (various)
9. Accountability Now (Director Paul Hoffman)
10. OUTA (CEO Wayne Duvenage)

9. BAD COPS

I fear the police, having a negative history with them. They haven’t been fans of my blogging. When cops were searching for me, wanting to beat me up, the Knysna Station Commander wouldn’t investigate.

When my drug-dealing neighbour threatened to kill me, and then assaulted me and was found choking me, the police failed to investigate and took 2 days to raid my attacker’s home, by which time the drugs were gone.

Captain Dewald Kitching went onto a DA-run Facebook page to state that I must pack his bags and leave town.

The Hawks in the George Cluster twice failed to investigate the ISDF tender fraud and illegal funding of Knysna Tourism. They stated that the NPA chose not to prosecute but the reality is that the cases were never investigated. More recently, the Hawks stated the same regards a case opened by Knysna Municipality. As misappropriated Public funds were used against me, and I was never interviewed by the SAPS, the investigation was, again, a farce.

I begged the Presidency to act, stating that I had few choices left, of which one was to write a book about the corruption. I published the digital book, ‘Same Shit Different Government: Book 1 – The Corruption & Intimidation’. , giving it away online. It has been downloaded 2800 times. Within, there are many links to evidence. I gave it away in the Public interest, to warn people and so that there would be a historical record.

Colonel Piet Bergh, the chief analyst for the Western Cape Hawks who whitewashed his report into my complaints, is aware that I laid a complaint against him. That should have made him keep his distance. Instead, Bergh emailed me to ask me when I would meet a DPCI officer in Durban regarding a fraud case I had laid against a fake attorney con artist. Bergh’s email was odd because the investigating officer never contacted me, the case was already with the NPA, and it was outside of Bergh’s provincial jurisdiction. I believed that I was been set up for arrest. That seemed true when the SAPS, the Sheriff and a private investigator showed up at my father’s house a few days later. In between, a journalist contacted me, wanting to meet. The private investigator was on his Facebook friends’ list. Three odd events within a week were an unlikely coincidence.

My father, whose on heart medication, was intimidated by the police and a private investigator hired by ex-Knysna DA Deputy Mayor Esme Edge and her life partner ex-DA candidate Advocate Julie Seton. The private eye, Miles Mowat, told my father that I could be killed with a ‘hit’ by the politicians and that UK specialists had been contracted to find me through my laptop. An oddity is that the Sheriff called Mowat and the Bellair SAPS, yet my father said that the Sheriff wasn’t with them and that Mowat pretended to be a SAPS detective. Additionally, the Sheriff uncharacteristically claimed to have stood outside the gate for hours. The following month, after I blogged Mowat’s behaviour, my father received another visit. This time, Mowat was alone and polite, never asked to search the house, and told my father that he’d been misunderstood. It appeared that Mowat was covering up his guilt.

The Sheriff’s Office, as represented by Manager Legal & Complaints Reesha Kasipershad Complaints and Investigations Officer Amish Gopie, refused to answer my queries or serve me via email.

I’m afraid to be in custody. I don’t want to be in the hands of bad cops. Consequently, I repeatedly appealed to NPA Director Shamila Batohi and Minister Bheki Cele to arrest me because I wanted my safety assured and my evidence handled appropriately. Despite several calls and many read receipts from their staff, they never acted.

On 23 July 2019, I met IPID’s Durban Director Charmain van der Sant. She wouldn’t arrange for my arrest, stating that no one could be arrested without an investigation. She put me in contact with Robert McBride who was the head of the National Public Service Commission’s Ethics Committee. He did nothing.

On 24 July 2019, I received an email from an old school mate who stated that two SAPS detectives had paid him a visit, tried to intimidate him, and absurdly stated that he was hiding me. He told them to return with a court order. They didn’t. The warrant for my arrest was a Sheriff’s and not a SAPS warrant which meant that they were acting illegally. I contacted Van der Sant who wouldn’t investigate. Van der Sant referred my information to the Durban office of the Public Protector despite me having told her that they wouldn’t act, that I had a complaint against junior and senior staff, and that Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhebane needed to accept responsibility.

On 2 August 2019, the SAHRC Durban Senior Legal Office, Ms Padayachee contacted Point police station in Durban, emailing me: “Captain R. E. Naidoo said that the SAPS would not be able to arrest Mr Hampton as per his request. Captain Naidoo was unable to locate any warrant of arrest that has been issued for Mr Hampton. He was only able to locate a protection order that was granted in Wynberg which Mr Hampton had contravened and advised that this was not sufficient to have him arrested. There is also no case number available for this matter.”

10. DOWNLOAD EVIDENCE

I’ve uploaded detailed evidence to my website too. It’s abundantly clear that serious investigation is required.

• ‘Download: In the Public Interest’ – Dropbox links to individual topics
• Dropbox – includes everything mentioned and thousands of pages more – court cases etc.

11. 94-DAY HUNGER STRIKE

My hunger strike began 16 May 2019 and was paused 16 August 2019.

For 94 days, I drank liquids only, mostly carrot juice and tea with soya milk. That’s approximately 350 calories per day, less than the 2,500 calories I needed when I started. I lost 20kg.

A timeline is provided on my website.

I paused his hunger strike because the Government wouldn’t respond, and mainstream Media wouldn’t report. It made no sense to continue to zero effect. Instead, my hunger strike will restart when arrested so that I’m solely the Government’s responsibility.

I’ve put on weight the past year. Except for weakened eyesight, I’m mostly healthy.

12. CONCLUSION

I’ve exposed crime implicating leading DA figures, national government staff, and local politicians and administrators. My value as a witness outweighs me writing a book exposing crime, yet I’m being treated as a criminal. The pursuit of me is pure Government and political intimidation meant to silence the truth and protect criminals.

This should be the biggest story in the DA’s history, and one of the biggest national stories of the year. It’s suspicious that mainstream Media is refusing to report, seemingly favouring a side which ensures the Western Cape suffers.

I had no option but to break the Court’s orders. The Public had to be warned and the National Government must step in to help the citizens of the Western Cape. President Cyril Ramaphosa must uphold his promise to fight corruption, that doesn’t mean only his ANC enemies but DA corruption too.

I demand that President Cyril Ramaphosa step in and explain why DA corruption is being protected by the ANC.

I want my evidence thoroughly investigated and the crooked punished. Besides direct crime, this would be South Africa’s best case for PRECCA. I’ve got an enormous load of evidence.

COGTA Porfolio Committee Chair Faith Muthambi has received my evidence. She has apparently passed it on to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). As there’s been no positive action for 10 years, I will only believe in Government honesty if I see results.

The investigation cannot be done without me. Anything less is cover-up, damage to the Public in the name of protecting corruption.

Read more at https://themikehampton.com.

9 November 2020

13. REFERENCES

NCOP:

• Love Knysna Petition

Office of the Public Protector:  

• OPP 7/2-000926/13WC-GRG
• OPP 7/2-002573/16WC-GRG
• OPP 7/2-002671/17WC-GRG
• OPP 7/2-0002694/17WC-GRG
• OPP 7/2-003944/18

SAPS/Hawks:

• SAPS Hawks – Cape Town OC 19.07.2018
• DPCI – 26/32/2(229)
• NPA/SAPS CID Durban Cas 354/6/18

Other:

• Presidency – 9/28/22#1 (514478) vol. 4/2018 (ns)
• SAHRC – KZ/1718/0521/BN

This is a draft document. More to be added…