By Anita Dangazele
- Brigadier Dineo Mokwele says a “heavy burden” has been lifted after all charges against her were permanently dropped.
- She and six other senior Crime Intelligence officials, including divisional head Dumisani Khumalo, were freed after Madlanga Commission evidence undercut the state’s case.
“A heavy burden has been lifted off me, but also for my family. They had to carry this with me. I can rebuild my life,” Brigadier Dineo Mokwele said outside the Pretoria Magistrates Court on Friday, after the National Prosecuting Authority permanently dropped all fraud and corruption charges against her.
Mokwele was one of seven senior Crime Intelligence officials, including divisional head Dumisani Khumalo, freed after a stunning reversal in a case that had been dogged by controversy and allegations of political infighting.
“The name Dineo Mokwele will never shine the same way, but at least, out of this, something good is coming. I appreciate that this case has created a platform for us to look at the overhauling of the criminal justice system,” she said.
She said she hopes the case leads to real institutional change.
“I hope the lessons arising from this process will strengthen institutions and prevent others from enduring what I’ve endured,” she said, adding that any further matters arising from her experience would now be handled through proper legal channels rather than in public.
“I do not intend to litigate that through the media. For now, I want to focus on my family, healing and rebuilding my life. This experience has changed me, but I still believe in South Africa.”
The now-former accused appeared briefly at the Pretoria Magistrates Court on Friday, where the case was formally withdrawn. The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, which led the prosecution, told the court that the National Director of Public Prosecutions had accepted representations to permanently stay the case.
The prosecution stemmed from Mokwele’s appointment to Crime Intelligence. Prosecutors had alleged the appointment was unlawful and that her qualifications had been misrepresented. But evidence before the Madlanga Commission suggested the opposite, that Mokwele was not only qualified for the role, but overqualified. The commission also heard evidence suggesting investigators may have pursued criminal charges before establishing that any crime had actually taken place.
Speaking to media outside court, Khumalo said the truth had come out, whether through the commission or the court process.
“It’s very concerning for the country, but then we tried and we are still trying our best to not let it negatively impact the services expected from us,” he said, describing it as troubling that officers from the “heartbeat” of the South African Police Service had been targeted unfairly.
This case has been at the centre of weeks of commission testimony, including admissions by former IDAC head Andrea Johnson over how the underlying complaint was handled, and evidence that a private investigator had sent Mokwele a threatening email demanding her resignation months before charges were formally brought.
The collapse of the prosecution is now likely to raise questions over whether the accused could seek damages from the state, after months of legal uncertainty and reputational harm.
Pictured above: Brigadier Dineo Mokwele says she can finally rebuild her life.
Image source: Supplied
