Investigators from the Independent Police Investigating Directorate (Ipid) helped Paul O’Sullivan and his assistant, Sarah Jane Trent, in an alleged attempt to “get back” at former acting national police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane, according to testimony before the ad hoc committee probing police corruption on Wednesday.
Advocate Michael Mashuga, a former senior prosecutor in the National Prosecuting Authority, added that then-Ipid head Robert McBride also benefited from that relationship, in that he relied on O’Sullivan and Trent to resolve his own challenges.
“This is corruption,” Mashuga said during his testimony.
Mashuga, who prosecuted O’Sullivan, Trent and other Ipid officers involved in investigations against Phahlane, said information downloaded from Trent’s phone showed discussions about Phahlane.
There were also discussions about the raid at Phahlane’s Pretoria home in 2017, where Ipid officers were ostensibly searching for a home theatre system valued at more than R80,000.
“...but the intention was not to actually confirm the sound system; it was to confirm what was inside the house,” said Mashuga.
At the time, there were reports that the sound system had been allegedly installed in Phahlane’s home by a service provider who apparently received a contract with the police forensic science laboratory‚ which he headed at the time.
But Phahlane said he used his own money to purchase the sound system, said Mashuga.
He added that after the search at Phahlane’s house, Trent and an Ipid investigator, Mandla Mahlangu, discussed the success of the operation.
“Before the search commenced, McBride leaked the search to the press. In a communication with Trent, [she] asked McBride who leaked the information to the press, to which McBride replied that it was him.”
He said after the search, communication between Trent and Mahlangu showed that Ipid investigators had misrepresented to the magistrate that they were going to search for the sound system.
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They were actually searching the whole house, he said.
“That’s what they said — they searched the whole house and that was with the intention of identifying, inter alia, the air conditioners inside the house, the finishes inside the house, to provide to O’Sullivan,” he added.
He said Mahlangu later asked Trent how O’Sullivan was taking the news, to which she replied, “Brilliantly.”
Mashuga alleged that McBride also sent an ID number to Trent and asked her to obtain the credit record of Patrick Johnson, who was allegedly causing difficulties for McBride in a separate matter.
“There was apparently a case against McBride where the witness was Patrick Johnson. They wanted to deal with him, and then they [said] his false matric certificate must be exposed.”
He said they decided that Trent and O’Sullivan should give the tip-off about Johnson because if it was done by McBride it would be seen as revenge.
“This is exactly gratification ... because there was quid pro quo — value for value. There was this issue of Ipid helping or assisting Trent and Paul O’Sullivan to get back at Phahlane to have him suspended or dismissed.
“On the other hand, McBride was getting all these favours.”
Despite that, McBride’s problems with Johnson were resolved, Mashuga said.
He also said cellphone data showed several instances where Trent and O’Sullivan accessed credit bureau records of several people, including witnesses against Phahlane.
“In some of these instances, she [Trent] is requested by McBride to do that,” he said.
He added McBride had leaked the ID number of Alwyn du Preez, Phahlane’s driver, to Trent and instructed her to find anything “strange on his credit record”.
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He further alleged that there were discussions of a counterattack when former police minister Nathi Nhleko wanted to reinstate a case against McBride.
Mashuga said Trent would allegedly instruct witnesses to remove certain paragraphs from their statements.
He said Trent and O’Sullivan even went to the extent of preparing section 205 subpoenas (used to obtain information during criminal investigations such as bank and cellphone records) and statements, which were presented as if they were compiled by Ipid officials.
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