. . . as DCP Lebajoa relaunches bid to have police boss jailed for 60 days
Mohalenyane Phakela
DEPUTY Commissioner of Police (DCP), Beleme Lebajoa, wants his boss, Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli, jailed for 60 days for failing to obey a 6 March 2023 High Court order to reinstate his security personnel.
DCP Lebajoa’s interlocutory application is expected to be heard by Justice Tseliso Mokoko tomorrow.
DCP Lebajoa approached the court on 6 March 2023 after he had allegedly been ordered by Commissioner Molibeli on 23 February 2023 to vacate the CID office and let it be occupied by an unnamed DCP.
Commissioner Molibeli had also stripped DCP Lebajoa of the two bodyguards that are part of his contractual benefits.
DCP Lebajoa’s lawyer, Rethabile Setlojoane, successfully petitioned Justice Mokoko to block his client’s removal from the CID office and have the bodyguards reinstated pending the finalisation of his court application.
However, it seems Commissioner Molibeli has not obeyed Justice Mokoko’s order. This after Advocate Setlojoane repeatedly engaged Commissioner Molibeli’s lawyer, one Adv Mohloki, to ensure that the police boss adheres to the court order.
On 7 March 2023, Adv Setlojoane wrote a letter to Adv Mohloki notifying him that Commissioner Molibeli had not obeyed the court order he had been served with the previous day.
Adv Setlojoane further called Adv Mohloki on 9 March 2023 over the same issue of returning the security personnel to DCP Lebajoa.
DCP Lebajoa states in his founding affidavit that Adv Mohloki’s reply was that Commissioner Molibeli had said that DCP Lebajoa should select other junior police officers he wished to replace his withdrawn guards with.
Adv Setlojoane advised Adv Mohloki that the court order was for the reinstatement and not replacement of guards. The latter had promised the court order would be obeyed the same day of 9 March 2023 after the telephone call.
DCP Lebajoa’s other lawyer, Salemane Phafane, King’s Counsel (KC) reportedly further communicated with Adv Mohloki on 10 March 2023 and informed him that a contempt application would be filed if Commissioner Molibeli still failed to obey the court order.
DCP Lebajoa says Adv Mohloki’s response was that he had unsuccessfully advised Commissioner Molibeli several times to do as the court had ordered.
DCP Lebajoa has now returned to court to seek the incarceration of the Police Commissioner over failure to adhere to the court order.
“I aver that the first respondent (Molibeli) has blatantly refused to comply with the order of this court in that, despite the order, service and knowledge thereof, he has, for reasons best known to him, not restored the security guards that were unilaterally and without a hearing, withdrawn from me, as ordered by this court,” DCP Lebajoa states in his founding affidavit.
“I aver that the first respondent continues, on (a) daily basis, to be in contempt of court, more so when he had been advised by his lawyer (Mohloki) to comply with the order of this court. His conduct amounts to blatant contempt of court. He is rendering the order of this court meaningless, useless and is basically rendering my application insignificant as he is considering himself to be (a) law unto himself.
“He is clearly determined to frustrate the execution of this court’s order. It is my contention that his conduct clearly has the effect of bringing the administration of justice in this country into total disrepute in the eyes of the right-thinking members of the society as Justice Mokoko warned him sometime last year before this court. The first respondent’s conduct is an insult to the court,” he continued.
It remains to be seen whether Commissioner Molibeli will once again survive a contempt application against him.
DCP Lebajoa first filed a contempt application against his boss in June last year. He wanted him jailed for 60 days. But Justice Mokoko opted to only warn the police boss against disobeying court orders.
Justice Mokoko on 1 June 2022 issued an order directing the Commissioner to dispatch, within two days, a record of proceedings which culminated in him seeking to transfer DCP Lebajoa from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to that of Finance and Infrastructure Development (FID).
The deputy police chief had rushed to court seeking an order stopping his transfer. The court issued an interim order staying the transfer until the finalisation of the court order. This allowed him to remain as the Head of CID.
Commissioner Molibeli had moved to swap the positions of DCP Lebajoa with that of DCP Paseka Mokete who heads the FID. The switching of positions was supposed to be with effect from 2 June 2022.
DCP Mokete previously headed the CID before he was moved to FID on 6 July 2021 and replaced with DCP Lebajoa who had just been promoted from the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner.
The main application which was filed on 1 June last in which DCP Lebajoa was challenging his transfer from CID to FID is set to proceed on 30 August 2023.
