Unexpected twist in case of top sleuth

Johannesburg - The case against forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan took an unexpected turn in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Monday when he, previous chief executive of the SAA Monwabisi Kalawe and chief operating officer of the Mogale City council Abednego Mbulawa were charged with extortion, intimidation, fraud, forgery and uttering.

O’Sullivan was appearing for contravention of the Citizenship Act which he was arrested for a month ago while boarding a plane for London with two of his children.

Last week, his legal team applied to the court to have his stringent bail conditions relaxed.

On Monday, Gauteng Hawks boss Major-General Prince Mokotedi was expected to take the stand, where O’Sullivan’s advocate Barry Roux was planning to question him on why they had arrested and allegedly tortured the private investigator.

O’Sullivan had laid a complaint with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) earlier in the week claiming his rights were violated during his arrest.

He said in the complaint that he was arrested in an attempt to intimidate him.

Alternatively, to cause him to refrain from reporting corruption within the police, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and state-owned entities.

He is the first in the country to be charged for the immigration offence.

But, Mokotedi who was at court, did not take the stand as O’Sullivan’s legal team dropped the bail application.

Independent Media understands this was part of a deal done with the Hawks for them not to rearrest O’Sullivan on the new charges.

NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku confirmed the charges and said O’Sullivan, Kalawe and Mbulawa were released on a warning.

The charges against the three come more than a year after a criminal complaint was opened by SAA chairwoman Dudu Myeni with the Hawks after fake papers emerged allegedly showing Myeni was hiding ill-gotten funds in overseas bank accounts.

O’Sullivan had sent out an e-mail to the police and journalists calling for an investigation into Myeni. Attached to the e-mail, which was also sent to the (now suspended) police commissioner General Riah Phiyega, was a fake Interpol report which suggested Myeni had off-shore accounts in France and Austria containing more than R250 million from alleged kickbacks in SAA tenders.

He also sent the e-mail to Myeni asking her to resign by sunset. O’Sullivan explained in the Ipid complaint that he was in Geneva, Switzerland, when he received the e-mail from Kalawe purporting to implicate Myeni in an Interpol investigation.

He sent the e-mails out to Myeni and journalists. A journalist replied with colour copies of the same documents and he sent this off to the police calling for an investigation.

“On face value the documents looked genuine,” O’Sullivan said.

He then verified the documents and within half an hour realised they were fake and e-mailed the same police asking them not to act on his earlier e-mail.

Myeni rejected O’Sullivan’s apology and offer of financial compensation.

O’Sullivan then opened a case at Bramley police station, alleging that the person who created the documents was Mbulawa.

Kalawe, who accused Myeni of corruption, has reportedly claimed that he passed the documents on to O’Sullivan for him to authenticate.

O’Sullivan had also opened a separate case against Myeni and the whole board of SAA alleging reckless conduct and corruption.

Media reports at the time claimed that Kalawe deposited R150 000 into an account in Mbulawa’s name, claiming the money was to cover his costs in obtaining the documents from his contacts in France.

Mbulawa denied the allegations.

Police last year raided the offices of all three men, seizing electronic equipment, which had to be returned after O’Sullivan won a high court application asking that they be given back to him.

Independent Media also understands the Hawks plan to charge O’Sullivan with espionage, but there are no details at this stage.