Makgophe Withdraws Interdiction Of Officers
Mpho Mokwape | Monday January 28, 2019 15:31
Makgophe had a change of heart on Monday as a contempt of court charge for interdicting loomed menacingly.
Two police officers, Moshe Garebamono and Thatayaone Marope had been suspended from duty on half pay after they were alleged to have engaged in sexual relations with police trainees while having a pending case before court.
The duo, who are instructors at the police college stood indicted on charges of discreditable conduct and disobedience of lawful orders respectively.
The charges emanated from allegations of sexual relations involving the instructors and trainees at the college.
As it stands now, the officers who are still on suspension will no longer be interdicted and will be placed under full pay while waiting for the outcome of their charges that are before the Class Disciplinary Board.
The immediate U-turn by the commissioner comes against the backdrop of an application for his incarceration on the basis that his actions “had taken away the subject matter from the court to the hands of the commissioner“. The commissioner’s withdrawal, however, comes at a heavy price to the taxpayer. According to the consent order “the attorney general withdraws the interdiction and tender costs of the application in favour of the officers”.
The background of the case stated that the two attorneys, Ofentse Khumomotse and Kabo Motswagole for the applicants, had filed an urgent application before court calling for the interdiction of Makgophe from carrying out his intention to place the police officers on half pay and interdict them from duty as per the December 28, 2018 missive by the commissioner.
The attorneys said a day after their court appearance, Makgophe went ahead and interdicted the pair from duty and put them on half pay forcing them to file an urgent interlocutory application for contempt of court. Meanwhile, the case has reignited the debate as to whether relations between trainees and instructors were prescribed as the attorneys argued before court.
The attorneys argued that, “neither the Police Act nor any regulations of the Police service prohibited sexual relations between instructors and trainees”.
A ruling in the merits of the case has been reserved to a date to be communicated to the parties.