WATCH | Top army officer gets bail in R1,5m ‘poison’ bribery plot

Asenior army officerwas allegedly willing to pay R1.5m to stop the investigation of a case where he was suspected to have smeared a “white substance” — possibly a deadly poison — in a colleague’s office and vehicle. Brig-Gen Johannes Mkhabela, director of special acquisition in defence intelligence, was arrested on February 13 and charged with corruption and defeating the ends of justice regarding his alleged attempt to bribe a police investigator. He was granted R10,000 bail in the Pretoria magistrate’s court yesterday and also ordered to hand in his passport.

The case was postponed to March 20. Mkhabela was caught with R50,000 that he allegedly intended to use to bribe an investigating officer to collapse a case of intimidation against him. According to an army insider who cannot be named, Mkhabela was allegedly caught on camera spraying the substance in his colleague’s office and car.

“CCTV footage has been obtained, and, according to it, Mkhabela [wearing gloves, a mask and a black hoodie] can be seen entering the office after hours and spraying the chemical,” said the insider. The source said the substance is believed to be cyanide, a fast-acting, potentially deadly chemical compound that could be found in the defence force’s biochemistry division, where Mkhabela had previously worked. [Breaking News] Brig-Gen Johannes Mkhabeka, a senior SANDF official accused of offering an investigating officer R1.5m bribe to squash a case has been granted R10 000 bail.@Sowetan1981pic.twitter.com/LTnn1IbrW8 Another highly placed source in the investigation said a case of intimidation was opened in January after a “white substance” was found in Mkhabela’s possession and sent for forensic analysis.

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“When the complainant opened a case, it was registered as intimidation pending the results of the substance, which is believed to be poison,” the source said. “We will get the results soon because the matter is now being investigated by theMadlanga taskteam, and we hope they use the effectiveness of the PKTT [political killings task team].” Police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed that a case of intimidation against Mkhabela was opened in January but that no arrests had yet been made as investigations continue.

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