By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The South African Football Association (Safa) has threatened to take legal action after a raid by the Hawks on its offices in Nasrec, Johannesburg.
The Serious Commercial Crime Investigation (HAWKS) raided Safa House, the home of the South African Football Association, and seized a laptop, external hard drives, a USB and other documents.
The crime-busting unit said the search warrants were prompted by allegations of fraud and theft amounting to R1.3 million against the SAFA president.
The transgressions are said to have happened between 2014 and 2018 when Danny Jordaan was at the helm of the organisation.
In response, SAFA issued a statement and it reads as follows:
“The search and seizure conducted by the Hawks at the South African Football Association’s (SAFA) headquarters in Nasrec, in the south of Johannesburg, on Friday, 8 March 2024 was unfortunate and a shame to our law enforcement agencies,” SAFA statement read.
“The Hawks are claiming allegations of fraud and theft amounting to R1,3 million. SAFA is well aware of the amount and is satisfied that it was for services rendered, for which contracts can be provided.
“We want to set it out from the onset that we believe the search was unlawful, malicious and not conducted in terms of the directives of a warrant given to us.
“We were not furnished with all the documents prescribed by law. The documents that were furnished by the Hawks during the shameful raid were incomplete and unlawful.
“We contend that it was done deliberately and intentionally in order to action this malicious action.
“As a result of this, we have instructed our attorneys to bring an urgent application to review and set aside this search and seizure. We have further instructed our attorneys to bring a formal complaint to the oversight arbitrator of the Hawks regarding the action of all involved members.
“We will further institute civil action for defamation of character against those involved in the naming of the SAFA President’s name in an ongoing investigation.
“We contend that this is unethical and unlawful as the police never mentioned anyone’s name in matters that are under investigation.
“We believe, unfortunately, that these members of the police have been compromised and are being used in the callous abuse of state resources. Let us reiterate, there is no money missing from SAFA.”