A high-profile police task team established to investigate a suspicious fire at premier Phumulo Masualle’s Bhisho offices late last month has made a breakthrough.
Two cleaners have been arrested on suspicion of arson.
They have already appeared in court.
However, labour union Nehawu’s chairman at the office of the premier (OTP), Loyiso Sobili, yesterday called on police to dig deeper, saying the two cleaners were scapegoats. Sobili insists there are bigger fish to fry.
The police task team, led by King William’s Town police cluster commander Brigadier Luntu Ngubelanga, arrested the two OTP employees last Wednesday.
Mpandlane Vellem, 54, from Balasi location, and Simphiwe Sunduzayo, 39, from Tyutyu village, were at work at the time of the arrest.
King William’s Town police spokeswoman Captain Siphokazi Mawisa said the two appeared before the Zwelitsha Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
The court released them on bail of R500 each.
Mawisa said the two were charged with arson and attempted murder.
Their next court appearance will be on August 28.
“They were charged with attempted murder because there were people inside that building when it was torched and anything could have happened to anyone who was inside that building,” Mawisa said.
It is understood that about five other OTP employees, including other cleaners, a messenger and security guards, were interrogated by the police task team and released.
Sobili claimed that although they had heard the two cleaners could have been linked to the incident through closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, the union still believed they were innocent.
Mawisa declined to confirm any link through CCTV saying: “That cannot be disclosed as it forms part of the investigation, which is still ongoing.”
The fire on June 30, which engulfed the archives section of the building and caused widespread panic, is said to have severely compromised a seven-year probe into supply chain irregularities in various government departments.
The facility stored thousands of supply chain management documents which were in the process of being digitally scanned for archiving.
At the time Masualle’s spokesman Sonwabo Mbananga confirmed that some of the charred documents formed part of Eastern Cape director-general Marion Mbina-Mthembu’s investigation into possible irregularities in government procurement.
He said the investigation was focused on transgressions committed since 2010.
The fire took place while Masualle was in Johannesburg attending the ANC national policy conference.
It broke out just hours after Gauteng premier David Makhura’s offices also mysteriously went up in flames.
OTP spokeswoman Mandisa Titi yesterday refused to be drawn into commenting on the arrests.
“This matter is now in the hands of police and, as such, we as the OTP are not speaking on it until all police processes are concluded,” was all Titi would say.
However Sobili, who yesterday confirmed that the two were union members, said he did not believe that the police had arrested the real culprits.
Sobili said the union welcomed the investigation.
“We, however, still believe that they are innocent until proven otherwise.
“These are very serious charges they are facing, hence we are saying police need to dig deeper as we don’t believe that they are the ones who committed this crime.
“We believe these two are just scapegoats and that there is a bigger fish to fry. We know that the two don’t even work with documents.
“They work outside, but they must say who might have sent them.”
Sobili claimed one of the accused had left for home hours before the fire erupted, hence “our suspicions that they are mere scapegoats”.
Attempts to reach Vellem and Sunduzayo were unsuccessful at the time of writing, with Sobili saying both their cellphones were still with police after they were confiscated on their arrest.
Sobili said Vellem was already back at work this week, while Sunduzayo had not yet reported for duty.
Some of the reported irregular expenditure committed by the provincial government in recent years includes millions spent on the Nelson Mandela memorial and funeral in 2013 without processes being followed.
A few days after the arson incident, Masualle told the media: “We are worried about the information that has been lost because all information stored is critical to government as it speaks to all our activities.
“We are now in the age where we have to give account of all the things we do and the documents are a repository of that information.
“When documents are lost or damaged by fire in the way we have lost these ones, then it impacts negatively on our ability to account,” said Masualle at the time. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
Cleaners held for Masualle fire
Two cleaners have been arrested on suspicion of arson.
They have already appeared in court.
However, labour union Nehawu’s chairman at the office of the premier (OTP), Loyiso Sobili, yesterday called on police to dig deeper, saying the two cleaners were scapegoats. Sobili insists there are bigger fish to fry.
The police task team, led by King William’s Town police cluster commander Brigadier Luntu Ngubelanga, arrested the two OTP employees last Wednesday.
Mpandlane Vellem, 54, from Balasi location, and Simphiwe Sunduzayo, 39, from Tyutyu village, were at work at the time of the arrest.
King William’s Town police spokeswoman Captain Siphokazi Mawisa said the two appeared before the Zwelitsha Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
The court released them on bail of R500 each.
Mawisa said the two were charged with arson and attempted murder.
Their next court appearance will be on August 28.
“They were charged with attempted murder because there were people inside that building when it was torched and anything could have happened to anyone who was inside that building,” Mawisa said.
It is understood that about five other OTP employees, including other cleaners, a messenger and security guards, were interrogated by the police task team and released.
Sobili claimed that although they had heard the two cleaners could have been linked to the incident through closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, the union still believed they were innocent.
Mawisa declined to confirm any link through CCTV saying: “That cannot be disclosed as it forms part of the investigation, which is still ongoing.”
The fire on June 30, which engulfed the archives section of the building and caused widespread panic, is said to have severely compromised a seven-year probe into supply chain irregularities in various government departments.
The facility stored thousands of supply chain management documents which were in the process of being digitally scanned for archiving.
At the time Masualle’s spokesman Sonwabo Mbananga confirmed that some of the charred documents formed part of Eastern Cape director-general Marion Mbina-Mthembu’s investigation into possible irregularities in government procurement.
He said the investigation was focused on transgressions committed since 2010.
The fire took place while Masualle was in Johannesburg attending the ANC national policy conference.
It broke out just hours after Gauteng premier David Makhura’s offices also mysteriously went up in flames.
OTP spokeswoman Mandisa Titi yesterday refused to be drawn into commenting on the arrests.
“This matter is now in the hands of police and, as such, we as the OTP are not speaking on it until all police processes are concluded,” was all Titi would say.
However Sobili, who yesterday confirmed that the two were union members, said he did not believe that the police had arrested the real culprits.
Sobili said the union welcomed the investigation.
“We, however, still believe that they are innocent until proven otherwise.
“These are very serious charges they are facing, hence we are saying police need to dig deeper as we don’t believe that they are the ones who committed this crime.
“We believe these two are just scapegoats and that there is a bigger fish to fry. We know that the two don’t even work with documents.
“They work outside, but they must say who might have sent them.”
Sobili claimed one of the accused had left for home hours before the fire erupted, hence “our suspicions that they are mere scapegoats”.
Attempts to reach Vellem and Sunduzayo were unsuccessful at the time of writing, with Sobili saying both their cellphones were still with police after they were confiscated on their arrest.
Sobili said Vellem was already back at work this week, while Sunduzayo had not yet reported for duty.
Some of the reported irregular expenditure committed by the provincial government in recent years includes millions spent on the Nelson Mandela memorial and funeral in 2013 without processes being followed.
A few days after the arson incident, Masualle told the media: “We are worried about the information that has been lost because all information stored is critical to government as it speaks to all our activities.
“We are now in the age where we have to give account of all the things we do and the documents are a repository of that information.
“When documents are lost or damaged by fire in the way we have lost these ones, then it impacts negatively on our ability to account,” said Masualle at the time. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
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