Cops lift lid on Nelson Mandela Bay police scandal

About R80,000 vanished from the Mount Road police station in Nelson Mandela Bay

Nelson Mandela Bay police officers say they were forced to pay for five parties celebrating a senior officer's 60th birthday and farewell, made to attend church on Sundays against their will, and that a colleague allegedly caught driving drunk was never charged.

These are some of the accusations made by three senior police officers in a whistleblower letter sent to IOL.

Police spokesman Captain Majola Nkohli vehemently denied the allegations.

The officers wrote in response to this publication's exclusive last month, which reported that around R80,000 in cash had gone missing from the office of the metro's top cop, Lieutenant-General Vuyisile Ncata.

The cash was collected from police officers over 12 months through contributions towards sporting events and fun walks, ostensibly to fund an excellence awards ceremony that has yet to take place.

Ncata was the Nelson Mandela Bay district commissioner at the time, overseeing all 18 police stations in the metro.

He has since been promoted to Eastern Cape provincial commissioner, while his secretary, Cherice Davis, resigned.

A criminal case was opened against Davis.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said the Eastern Cape Anti-Corruption Unit and an internal police team were investigating the missing money.

"An internal departmental investigation is also underway," Gantana said at the time.

"SAPS can confirm the secretary has tendered her resignation and is currently serving her notice period.

"To protect the integrity of the investigations, no further information can be shared at this time."

It is understood Davis has since withdrawn her resignation.

Acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane issued a directive ordering police bosses to stop forcing junior officers to contribute to fundraising collections.

The directive was sent to all provincial and divisional commissioners, deputy national commissioners and top management across the country on May 29. 

"It has come to light that certain commanders are insisting that junior members contribute to fund-raising projects or collections," the directive read.

"This practice must be discontinued immediately."

It said all official fund-raising must be strictly voluntary.

In the whistleblower letter, the officers said the public had only been told part of the story.

"Everything in your article is true, except no one knows of a banking account which was opened," they wrote.

They were referring to a dedicated bank account that had allegedly been opened for the collected funds

They claimed far more money had been involved.

"There must have been much more money in that safe as what they want the public to believe," they wrote.

According to the officers, every station was ordered to pay R3,000 towards an annual excellence award, yet private companies had also donated and that money was never used.

"Instead donations from private companies were received and the funds was never used," they wrote.

The demands did not end there, they said.

Stations were forced to pay between R350 and R500 each time a senior officer was given a farewell.

The clearest example, the officers said, came when one brigadier turned 60.

They said stations were allegedly made to pay for almost five separate parties for her birthday and her farewell, and she handed out her banking details so money could be paid straight to her.

"She even distributed her banking details to certain people to deposit more money," they wrote.

The officers said the pressure to pay had started under Ncata and carried on under the acting district commissioner, Brigadier Loyiso Ngalo.

"When Ncata was promoted, we really thought that this [alleged] micro-management of stations will come to an end," they wrote.

"But with the newly appointed acting district commissioner, Brigadier Ngalo, he only picked up where his predecessor left."

Often, they said, officers paid before they were even told what the money was for, and refusing was not an option.

"You are forced, if not, you are victimised," they wrote.

The letter then turned to Ngalo himself.

"One night he was [allegedly] under the influence and was taken to Walmer police station where he wanted to abuse his rank," they wrote.

According to the officers, the incident happened in 2024.

According to the letter, Ncata was called to the station, the two men spoke, and the matter was allegedly dropped.

"No disciplinary steps were taken against Brigadier Ngalo, no case was even opened against him," they wrote.

Much of the letter described how understaffed and under-resourced the stations had become.

The officers said most had only about eight members on a shift, of whom only four could usually answer complaints.

"From that eight members, only four, if you are lucky can attend to complaints," they wrote.

Stations often had only one or two vehicles, they said, but even those were regularly deployed elsewhere.

"When your crime [statistics are] up, then you must explain and you cannot mention that they took your members or your vehicles," they wrote.

"You must keep quiet or you get victimised and humiliated in front of everyone.

"When you complain about resources, they are telling you to cope with what you have."

The officers also alleged that specialist units were being pulled away from the jobs they were meant to do.

The Anti-Gang Unit and soldiers from the army had been taken out of the gang areas altogether, they said.

"They are deployed in the Walmer location [allegedly] on the instruction of Brigadier Ngalo," the letter said.

They also said the K9 Unit was being used to patrol highways, and a special squad under a Colonel Adams was sent only to the Kwazakhele and New Brighton areas.

"Every day of the week, members from stations are pulled for special operations in other station precincts and stations are suffering," they wrote.

The officers said they were being worked to the bone.

"Officers must work standby duties and sometimes you don't even sleep in a night, but is expected to work again the next day," they wrote.

"You must work seven days a week 24/7 and no additional compensation is made," they added.

They were also made to attend church on Sundays, no matter what they believed.

"Freedom of religion is not something that we know in the Nelson Mandela Bay," they wrote.

Above all, they said, they were forced to hide the truth from the public.

"We are forced to lie to the community," they wrote.

"We cannot tell the community what our real situation is at station level," they added.

In his response, Nkohli rejected the allegations outright.

"The SA Police Service strongly refutes all allegations regarding a senior officer being brought to Walmer SAPS under the influence of alcohol and rejects claims of cover-up by the then district commissioner," he said.

He said no officer was above the law, whatever their rank.

"SAPS maintains that junior officers have the legal authority to arrest any superior officer, who commits an offence and any cover-up attempts can result in criminal charges for defeating the ends of justice," he said.

Nkohli said the police did raise money, but only for good causes such as school uniforms and stationery for poor children, through bodies like the SAPS Education Trust and groups such as the Women's Network and Men For Change.

"Participation in all these activities is voluntary, and no person has ever been coerced to contribute," he said.

"Financial reports detailing all collections and expenditures are consistently compiled and circulated to all contributors," he added.

The criminal case against Davis and the police investigation are both still ongoing.