KwaZulu-Natal police have rejected claims that the provincial Hawks head, Major General Lesetja Senona, was forcibly removed from his office, saying his departure from the SAPS provincial headquarters followed a series of security concerns triggered by his conduct during a weekend visit. Senona has been implicated in the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry investigating corruption within the police. On Saturday, Senona’s lawyers released a statement claiming that he was kicked out of his office and “told not to return again”.
In a media statement issued on Sunday, SAPS KZN spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said reports suggesting that Senona was “kicked out” of his office and had his electronic devices seized were inaccurate and misleading. “Police in KwaZulu-Natal would like to set the record straight on reports that the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Head of the Hawks, Major General Lesetja Senona, was kicked out of his office and had his electronic devices taken away from him,” he said. According to Netshiunda, Senona has a dedicated parking bay inside the provincial headquarters building.
However, on Saturday he arrived at the building and chose to park on the street opposite the premises instead. The provincial Hawks head was later joined by a colonel from the Hawks, who sat with him in his vehicle for approximately 45 minutes. The two later entered the building with Senona’s secretary.
Read Full Article on The Witness
[paywall]
On weekends and after normal working hours, all personnel, regardless of rank, are required to sign an access register. While the secretary signed the register for herself, Senona and the colonel allegedly failed to do so and proceeded directly to the offices, said Netshiunda. “The unusual events of Major General Senona coming to work on a Saturday, the parking of his vehicle on the street and not at his parking bay inside the building, the unusual in-the-car meeting on the street with a colonel, and the failure to sign the mandatory register raised security concerns,” Netshiunda said.
Senona, who concluded his testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday, has been accused of using his position to protect the interests of alleged underworld boss Vusumuzi “Cat” Matlala. Saturday’s events unfolded a few days after President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a directive to Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and National Police Commissioner Fanie Masemolo to establish a task team to probe Senona and other individuals implicated in the commission’s three-month interim report.
[/paywall]
