By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) Deputy Commissioner Umashi Dhlamini has strongly denied allegations that he influenced tenders, including claims that he received bribes from any third party.
Dhlamini has been implicated in the security tender irregularities at the City of Tshwane.
Central to his testimony was the nature of his long-standing relationship with Sergeant Fannie Nkosi, which he traced back more than three decades.
He said that their communication is frequent and informal, consistent with a close personal relationship.
“My communication with Sergeant Nkosi is frequent and flows naturally, as it will be between brothers. It is impossible to keep records of how many times we have engaged, “Dhlamini said.
Despite this close relationship, Dhlamini insisted he maintained professional boundaries when it came to matters related to the metro.
He revealed that Nkosi had approached him for assistance with a tender document linked to his younger brother’s company, but he declined.
“I refused to assist… I advised that helping him with the request will amount to a conflict of interest,” Dhlamini said.
Contrary to Nkosi’s testimony, Whatsapp exchanges presented at the inquiry showed that Dhlamini forwarded a list of bidders for a Tshwane ad hoc security tender to Nkosi.
Dlamini said Nkosi had asked him to check whether his brother’s company, Ngapesheya Security Services, appeared on the list.
“He indicated that he wanted to verify in both instance that whether his brother has tendered the bid or not,” said Dhlamini.
He added that he instead referred Nkosi to an external individual for assistance, stressing that he did not involve himself in the process.
Dhlamini also confirmed that he requested to be placed on precautionary suspension after the allegations surfaced during Nkosi’s testimony.
He said decision was taken to avoid ongoing scrutiny in the workplace while awaiting an opportunity to respond to the claims.
“Yes! I think on the 16th of April when Sergeant Nkosi was testifying, there were Whatsapp messages that came out of the commission between myself and him and the CFO that emerged. The next day I sat with the chief to say since there are these allegations, what is the city doing? I couldn’t get a straight answer. Then on the 20th I felt I can’t be sitting at work. Everyone will come an ask What is happening? You go to a meeting, you find yourself explaining. Then I felt it might be good for me to request to be placed on precautionary suspension perhaps until I get an opportunity to address some of these matters,” said Dhlamini.
He further denied having any interactions with several individuals and companies linked to the tender investigations, maintaining that he has no direct or indirect interests in any of the entities under scrutiny.
The commission previously heard that Gubis 85 solutions was paid R59 million and allocated 37 infrastructure sites, surpassing other service providers in both payment and site allocation.
The tender in question, known as TMPD 02-2016/2017, involved both fixed monthly security services and additional ad hoc deployments across municipal departments.
Gubis85 Solutions meanwhile wants to tell its side of the story after being implicated at the Commission. The security company said the story is currently one-sided.
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System is exposing the rot. And the question now is who will be held accountable.