Chairperson of the committee, Francois Beukman, said in a statement that it is imperative that members of the DPCI, especially high-ranking members, should act without fear or favour to uphold the law, and that any dereliction of that duty should be properly investigated.

"In terms of Section 17 L (4) (a) of the SAPS Act any member of the public who can provide evidence of serious and unlawful infringement of his or her rights caused by an investigation of the Directorate (Hawks) can bring a compliant to the DPCI Judge," said Beukman.

The current DPCI Judge is Judge Frans Kgomo, former Judge President of the Northern Cape Provincial Division of the High Court.

"Whilst the committee acknowledges that the proceedings of the Commission are still underway and that testimony will still be subjected to cross-examination and findings of the Commission be made, any serious allegations against DPCI members should be urgently investigated by the relevant authorities.

“The DPCI should lead in the fight against corruption and any allegations that comprise their role should be subject to independent investigation,” said Beukman.  

He further said that there are two independent institutions that are ideally placed to investigate the allegations against members of the DPC, namely the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) and the Office of the DPCI Judge.      

Beukman called on any individual or organisation who have evidence of wrongful or criminal conduct of members of the DPCI to utilise the constitutional institutions that are there to investigate wrongful conduct.

“The committee’s view is that the Head of the DPCI, general Geoffrey Lebeya, should also, as a matter of priority, launch an internal inquiry into the allegations,” said Beukman.

The committee will at the next engagement with the management of the DPCI request a briefing on the matter.

Statement supplied