Two of the Eastern Cape’s top cops are at loggerheads as disputes over disciplinary issues and promotions have now reached the courts.
Nelson Mandela Bay Colonel Tony Nomdoe, station commander at the Kabega Park police station, has reported a case of harassment against district police commissioner Lieutenant-General Vuyisile Ncata.
The matter is pending before the domestic section of the Gqeberha magistrate’s court and has been postponed three times since October.
The matter was once again meant to go ahead on Monday, but was postponed for one of the parties to obtain legal representation.
The case was accordingly postponed to November 24.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa confirmed this week that a case of harassment had been reported against Ncata.
“The case was opened at the Mount Road police station and the matter is under investigation,” Mawisa said.
“There will be no further comment on the case.”
Asked about the internal hearings seemingly behind the harassment case, Mawisa said: “That is an internal matter between the employer and the employee, therefore the SA Police Service is not at liberty to respond to your inquiry.”
Both Nomdoe and Ncata also declined to comment on the matter.
The exact allegations behind the harassment charge are not clear.
However, it comes after Nomdoe lodged a complaint with the Safety and Security Bargaining Council (SSBC) relating to an alleged unfair labour dispute on August 8 2024.
This came after he lost out on a promotion to the post of police commander of the Bethelsdorp station.
Prior to that, Nomdoe faced a disciplinary hearing after Ncata accused him of misconduct.
He was notified on July 11 2024 about the disciplinary charges and was served on August 16 2024.
Nomdoe had claimed that the person who was promoted over him was the same person selected to chair his disciplinary hearing.
Approached for comment, SSBC dispute resolution manager Romilla Nunhoo referred all questions to Nomdoe, saying that they could not provide information related to the matter due to the Protection of Personal Information Act.
Sources within the police have, meanwhile, alleged that the relationship between Nomdoe and Ncata had soured over the years.
They said this had also caused division between officers as some were in favour of Nomdoe, while others supported Ncata.
A senior officer with intimate knowledge of the matter said Nomdoe had made a series of allegations against Ncata and the chair of his disciplinary hearing, Brigadier Mzwabantu Jada.
This, the source said, had led to the delays in finalising the hearing and it was eventually stalled.
Nomdoe has only two months left to retirement.
At one stage, Nomdoe reportedly asked Jada to recuse himself from the hearing, citing a possible conflict.
Numerous attempts to reach Jada for comment on Wednesday proved futile.
Another source said the dispute was no secret and agreed that it had caused divisions within the police.
“There are officers who have taken sick leave due to work-related stress, while others at police stations are unhappy with how promotions are being handled,” the source said.
The hearing against Nomdoe was initially scheduled to be heard at the Mount Road police station on September 5 2024.
Nomdoe was accused of disregarding Ncata’s instruction for senior management to lead a police operation on December 31 2023.
Instead, Nomdoe allegedly used a detective at the station to lead the operation despite Ncata’s clarification on whom he regarded as senior management — Nomdoe and three other section heads.
The second charge was that Nomdoe allegedly neglected to perform his duties and functions in a proper manner when he failed to lead the operation as instructed by Ncata and “broke down all communication” with him or his secretary from about midday on December 31 2023 to 6am on January 1 2024.
The hearing against Nomdoe was meant to be finalised within 60 days — but it is understood it was stalled despite the preliminary investigation finding that there was a prima facie case of misconduct against him.
Nomdoe, through the Police and Prison Civil Rights Union (Popcru), had on December 17 2024 applied to now acting provincial commissioner Major-General Thandiswa Kupiso for Jada’s recusal.
He said part of the conflict lay in the fact that Jada was appointed a brigadier in the position of station commander at the Bethelsdorp police station — the same position for which Nomdoe was a candidate.
Ncata, Nomdoe claimed, was a member of the panel that promoted Jada to the post.
Jada, Nomdoe alleged further, also rented Ncata’s house in KwaMagxaki upon his arrival in Gqeberha to take up his promotion.
Referring to the instruction from Ncata for him to lead the December operation, which was also sent via WhatsApp to all commanders, including Jada, Nomdoe argued that Jada could therefore not claim he had no prior knowledge of the details of the case.
It was this same WhatsApp message that formed the basis of Ncata’s complaint against Nomdoe.
Jada, Nomdoe argued, was not in a position to perform his duties with impartiality and without being biased or compromised.
Nomdoe asked for the hearing to be held outside the district, arguing that Ncata could not appoint functionaries within the district because they would have prior knowledge of the case.
He claimed that he was also denied legal representation for the hearing.
The Herald
