Hawks Part 3: Cops avoiding investigating DA
Head of the Hawks (DPCI), Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, never responded to my initial complaint but Colonel Piet Bergh was ordered to meet me. Bergh is the chief analyst for the Western Cape Hawks, head of the Priority Crime Management Centre.
That meeting took place in Durban on 19 September 2018. Captain Philip van Dyk, also from Cape Town, was in attendance. I was told that they would speak more freely if I never recorded. I will never go off-record again!
In addition to affidavits and evidence, I gave copies of the letter I’d sent the day before. It was my way of trying to assist them find a beginning in a long story. It was accepted, its contents ignored and, as shown in Part 2, a whitewashed report subsequently issued. Some of the recommendations referred me to the George Cluster, odd considering i was requesting it be investigated.
THE LETTER
Attention: HAWKS (Western Cape)
– Colonel Piet Bergh
– Colonel Abdul Enus
Reference: CPT OC 19.07.2018
Date: September 18 2018
Sent via: Email
INVESTIGATION ASSISTANCE
This corruption is widespread. As large as my complaint is, it’ll need to be built upon as those implicated will be involved in more.
The following info requests and people to question will help your preliminary investigation. It should result in a lot of information quickly.
Initially, for most, all you have to do is send an introductory email asking for assistance. A few will want to deliver evidence against their enemies. That will help you assess my complaint and better build context for the main investigation.
Simultaneously, awareness of your presence will raise eyebrows and make me feel safer.
Additionally, this document will help your Q&A with me at our Durban meeting tomorrow.
Hereunder, I refer to myself in the third person.
DOCUMENTS TO OBTAIN
Police
- Obtain a copy of the case Knysna DA Councillor Peter Myers opened with the George Cluster. Myers involved in some of the corruption but has been using several issues to fight the bigger corruption of the opposing DA faction that wishes to unseat him and his friend, Mayor Mark Willemse. Initially, focus on what info he can offer rather than his hypocritical involvement. He’s an advocate, chartered accountant and insider. He will be your most useful investigatory tool – pmyers@knysna.gov.za / 0834136086 / 0443026300 (Knysna Municipality).
- Discover from the George Cluster why allegedly little progress on Myers case over past year. Question why they failed to investigate Mike Hampton’s complaints regarding Knysna Tourism (105/05/2015) and the ISDF tender (106/05/2015) for which he’s since been proven correct through government and legal investigations. The Hawks failure added years of misery and millions of rands loss to the the Public. There’s no valid reason to not investigate because an unnamed prosecutor said so. Investigation is supposed to be done before submitting to the NPA. The ‘investigator’ failed to even interview Hampton.
- Ask W/O Werner Bezuidenhout for all actions taken with regards Hampton’s complaint to the Policing Complaints Commission on June 6 2017 – 0214838890 / Bezuidenhout@westerncape.gov.za. The regular SAPS may not be your area but it will assist in you understanding the overall situation.
Susan Campbell & the Knysna Ratepayers’ Association
- Susan Campbell is a High Court attorney and citizen highly involved in Councillor Myers’ faction. She is also on the Committee of the Knysna Ratepayers’ Association and was previously their legal adviser. Almost all the organisation’s complaints are composed by her. Her work may be aimed in one direction only but its well argued and informative. She’s also a member of Knysna Municipality’s Planning tribunal. Her best friend is Director Planning & Development Marlene Boyce. As a professional and an insider, her contribution to the investigation will be as important as Myers. She will undoubtedly, also, have some issues Hampton hasn’t addressed, but involving the same culprits – 0825706894 / sucam@mweb.co.za
Knysna Municipality
There have been a number of important legal opinions and investigation costing million of rands. Gain all reports as well as their cost:
- Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Attorneys
- De Swardt Vogel Myambo Attorneys
- Auditor General’s findings into local preferential premium, Knysna Tourism funding and Fran Kirsten’s communications manager contract.
- Disciplinary hearing for ex-MM Grant Easton
Furthermore:
- The evidence, recordings and minutes from the disciplinary hearing against ex-Municipal Manager Grant Easton. That’s directly relevant to many of Hampton’s complaints.
- Recording of SALGA’s statement to Council in support of suing Hampton.
- The resignation letters from all senior managers the past 5 years.
- A report listing all complaints by Hampton since 2011, who they were reported to and passed onto, and with description of how they were handled (they were blocked but this will provide a chain).
- All contracts or positions awarded to or held by Fran Kirsten.
Address to Knysna Mayor Mark Willemse (mwillemse@knysna.gov.za / 0443026353) and Acting Municipal Manager Johnny Douglas (mm@knysna.gov.za / 0443026590). They are respectively the political and administrative heads as well as in opposing factions.
SALGA (South African Local Government Association)
All SALGA’s emails and related documents regarding Mike Hampton. This must include:
- Communication with Knysna Municipality and Knysna Council.
- All internal communication regarding the Hampton topic.
- Detail how and why SALGA’s Lance Joel came to talk to the Council in support of suing Hampton, the costs involved, and Councillor Eleanore Spies and Councillor Georlene Wolmaran’s relationship with SALGA, Lance Joel and Xolile George.
- Detail the supply chain route and costs that resulted in legal threats by SALGA to Hampton.
- Detail how Hampton’s complaints to SALGA were handled.
Democratic Alliance
- The DA tried to persecute Councillors Myers and Willemse. Ask Willemse and Myers to provide a report on the corruption that they reported to the DA and the Western Cape Government. That should include copies of correspondence.
- As a preliminary step, request that DA Federal Executive Chair James Selfe and DA Leader Mmusi Maimane explain why they failed to act on the corruption reported to them by Hampton.
- A report listing all complaints and PAIA to the DA by Mike Hampton since 2011, reference numbers, who they were reported to and passed onto, and with description of how they were handled. Addressed to Selfe (fedexchair@da.org.za) and Maimane (leader@da.org.za, with CC to his Chief of Staff, Geordinh@da.org.za).
Western Cape Government
- As a preliminary step, request that Premier Zille explain why she has failed to act on the corruption reported to her by Hampton. Ask her to reference her meeting with him in Knysna in 2017, and the subsequent and related emails she was sent directly thereafter after.
- As separate and more expansive, request a report from Premier Helen Zille listing all complaints and PAIA by Hampton to her Department of the Premier, Department Local Government, and Department of Economic Development & Tourism. Must include reference numbers, who handled them, and how theyacted upon.
- All correspondence, internal and external, and supply chain steps taken in 2018, related to threatening to sue Hampton and hold him criminal liable, done so on behalf of Helen Zille, MEC Alan Winde, MEC Anton Bredell and Donnae Strydom (Zille’s secretary), sent by Attorney Fiona Stewart.
Social Media
Gain the identities of the administrators, and the periods they were administrators, so as to determine who was involved in propaganda and blocking communication, for:
- Protecting Brand Knysna & (name change to) Wicked Knysna (Facebook)
- Hampton Factor (Facebook)
- Knysna Knews (Facebook)
- DA Knysna (Facebook)
- Knysna Municipality (Facebook)
- Angry Mike (Twitter)
Public Protector
- Hampton had 13 complaints with the George Office of the Public Protector. Request all emailed correspondence and meeting recordings between that office and the Knysna Municipality, Bitou Municipality, Western Cape Government and DA. Gain all documentation that those parties gave to the Public Protector in response to Hampton’s complaints. You do not need Hampton’s complaints and all his emailed correspondence with them. Hampton will provide the most relevant as attachments to a report rather than you be further inundated. Contact Senior Investigator Gideon Landman – 0824139722 / Gideonl@pprotect.org.
Sub Investigations
The full investigation will take long. The suggestion is for you to complete easy to complete aspects of the case that will grant victories and justify the project team, add important jigsaws to the bigger picture, and make those who intimidate Hampton hesitate.
- The De Swardt Vogel Myambo (DSVM) report clearly implicates Councillor Eleanore Spies (recently deposed Mayor), ex-MM Kam Chetty (recently quit) and Director Legal Services Kam Chetty. They’re implicated in fraud and theft, from backdating a contract and illegally funding Knysna Tourism, to using Public funds to pay for personal legal fees against Hampton.
- Auditor General found Eleanore Spies’ friend and campaign manager, Fran Kirsten, was illegally contracted as Communications Manager.
- Auditor General finding: Director Dawie Adonis illegally appointed. There’s also an allegation of graft against him.
- Councillor Martin Young and Advocate Julie Seton conspired to create and use a fake psychiatric diagnosis of Hampton as a sociopath and danger to children so as to discredit him and make false evidence submission to the Cape Bar.
- Sedgefield Fire Station Commander Wayne Sternsdorf gained a protection order against Hampton based on the perjury that he’d never been charged in Cape Town.
- Mazars forensic report shows Rowan Spies was involved in fraud and graft.
- Disciplinary evidence against ex-MM who was found guilty but never prosecuted. Gaining his guilt will lead to associates.
First Interviews
- Knysna Mayor Willemse and Councillor Myers (initially together as they will complement each other)
- Susan Campbell
- Councillor Eleanore Spies – intimidator
- Councillor Martin Young – intimidator
- Ingrid Erlank – previously editor of the Knysna-Plett Herald who was victimised for reporting on the Municipality, and forced out. She can verify that the Municipality pulled its advertising, and that municipal and political representatives met with her bosses to apply pressure. Erlank delayed the release of the newspaper when she pulled a front page article regarding Knysna Tourism because she believed that the then CEO would kill the whistleblower.
URGENT – PARLIAMENT
NCOP has to make a final decision on how to handle Hampton’s Love Knysna Petition which will include all issues reported to the Hawks. NCOP may do so without updating info or informing Hampton of a date (as happened last time).
Please inform NCOP Chair Thandi Modise of your inquiry, that you have prima facie evidence of maladministration, intimidation and corruption involving the Knysna Municipality, Knysna Council, Western Cape Government and Democratic Alliance.
State that you are aware that the petitioner has requested a Joint Task Team and that if that becomes part of the recommendation by NCOP, request that the Hawks be included.
Address to tmodise@parliament.gov.za, Ccing Clerk of Papers Llewellynn Claassen lclaassen@parliament.gov.za.
Mike Hampton
NB: The letter can be downloaded as a pdf.
Read: ‘Hawks 4: Complaint to Bheki Cele & Lt Gen Godfrey Lebeya’