Cele relied on 'tip-offs from public' as Sitole and crime intelligence 'snubbed him' during July 2021 unrest

Police minister Bheki Cele on Monday revealed how volatile things were between him and national police commissioner Lt-Gen Khehla Sitole during the July 2021 unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

It reached the point where Cele “relied on tip-offs from ground forces and the public” to get updates on developments instead of from police crime intelligence, which was seemingly reporting to Sitole.

After being in the dark for months about police operations, Cele said it was only in December 2021, after he had accused crime intelligence of not providing him with information on the unrest, that they gave him a summary of the work they did during that time.

He was testifying at the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) hearings into the violent riots and looting which claimed the lives of more than 300 people and damaged property and infrastructure after the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma.

The first round of hearings was held in KwaZulu-Natal last year.

Cele said in December, after having already testified in KwaZulu-Natal, he got a report via email with the signatures of three senior police management officials — Sithole, deputy national police commissioner Lt-Gen Fannie Masemola and a senior manager within the crime intelligence division.

The document had been compiled in September and signed by all three that month, but the space where Cele’s signature was meant to have been attached, acknowledging receipt of the document, was empty.

Cele said the document, which was confidential, indicated that 101 daily reports were made, threat analyses of at least 45 incidents were conducted and 41 intelligence reports had been compiled from June when police caught wind of the looming threat.

None of these documents reached Cele and they were not attached to the document sent to him.

There appeared to be tension at that time between himself and Sitole. This was after Sitole removed crime intelligence boss Lt-Gen Peter Jacobs at the end of 2020 without consulting him. Five other senior management officials were also removed, with Sitole appointing an interim head in Jacobs’ place — also without Cele’s involvement.

The matter eventually made it to court and a ruling was awarded in Sitole’s favour.

Asked by evidence leader Lloyd Lotz if internal issues contributed to there being a lack of intelligence provided to Cele, he replied this should not have been the case and it seemed there was a “deliberate decision” to exclude him.

Cele said he was particularly concerned because claims were being made against him and another politician, with threats going as far as people saying they knew “where their wives and children are”.

After receiving the threats, Cele said he raised concerns with the State Security Agency (SSA) to determine whether he “should be worried”, but at the time of the unrest he had received no intelligence reports from the three departments concerned — the SA National Defence Force, SSA and police crime intelligence.

At one point he received a call from a person involved in a private security company, saying “don’t you dare go there”, referring to one of the townships hit by the violence.

“He said they would be happy to make you their trophy,” said Cele. He heeded the call. Looking back, this was a good tip-off as an ANC councillor had been among those seen in the area carrying a firearm.

All the information he had at the time came from “forces on the ground” and community members who had his cellphone number.

“My number is on the internet. Anybody can phone me. It irritates, but it also helps.”

It was through these tip-offs that he learnt the names of people who used pseudonyms, such as “Sphithiphithi’ and “Son of the Soil” who were later implicated in the unrest.  

“The information that came from ordinary South Africans changed the scope of things.”

He never shared these names with Sitole. At that point, he was working more closely with the deputy provincial commissioners and the Hawks. They were wary of identifying their informants.

Cele said he tried to contain the situation, saying he believed in an active approach of being on the ground where the trouble was. He had invited Sitole to join him working from KwaZulu-Natal, but “Sithole was nowhere to be seen”.

“I can authoritatively say that community engagement worked. People were mobilising to attack. Working from the office would not have helped.”

In his own efforts to douse the flames, Cele had met Zuma before the unrest. He also gave advice to police operatives brought in from neighbouring provinces, as he could tell that something was brewing.

“Preparations could have helped ... It was clear that something was going to happen and preparations could have been better.”

“I remember getting information on a shortage of rubber bullets. I told the national commissioner that is a disaster, because it meant police would have been forced to use live rounds instead of rubber bullets.”

Eventually, rubber bullets were flown to the provinces that needed them.

In some parts of Gauteng, such as Maponya Mall in Soweto, community members had partnered with the police to protect infrastructure.

He expressed concern about community policing forums (CPFs), as they had been "infiltrated by criminal elements". In KwaZulu-Natal, an ex-prisoner who served eight years for rape had chaired a CPF.

The commission is expected to hear evidence from police officers on Tuesday. The SA National Defence Force, community representative forums from Alexandra and Soweto and taxi associations are also expected to testify.

Trade and industry minister Ebrahim Patel is expected to appear at the commission on Friday.

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