Why Bheki Cele says the 2010 FIFA World Cup overshadowed TRC investigations

Former police minister Bheki Cele has told the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry that he was not aware of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases during his tenure as national police commissioner, saying his primary focus at the time was ensuring South Africa successfully hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

“I don’t think much attention was brought to me about the TRC cases,” Cele said.

“I’m sure the head of the Hawks then was General Anwa Dramat. If there were cases, they would have been referred directly to him.”

Cele said he only became more familiar with the TRC-related matters after he was appointed minister of police.

“I must admit that my engagement with these Truth and Reconciliation Commission cases came more when I was minister than when I was National Commissioner,” he said.

Focus on 2010 FIFA World Cup

Commissioner Andrea Gabriel questioned how he could have been unaware of the cases while serving as National Commissioner, given that he was responsible for police operations.

Cele said the South African Police Service had been heavily focused on preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

“When I became National Commissioner, we had a very focused project. That was the 2010 World Cup,” he said.

“I’m sure many other things may have taken a bit of a back seat because we had to make the 2010 World Cup happen.”

He said there were widespread concerns at the time that South Africa’s high crime levels could jeopardise the tournament.

“There was a big issue that the World Cup might not come to South Africa because we were seen as a paradise of crime,” he said.

“The South African Police Service saved the World Cup.”

Cele recounted how, in March 2010, then-SAFA president Kirsten Nematandani contacted him while he was in East London and asked him to rush to OR Tambo International Airport.

“There I found FIFA secretary-general Jérôme Valcke in tears because there were fears that the World Cup was going either to Australia or Germany,” Cele said.

He said he then assembled a team of 13 police generals who travelled to FIFA headquarters in Zurich to assure officials that South Africa could host the tournament safely.

“Unfortunately, not many people know that story of the South African police,” he said.

Asked whether the intense focus on the World Cup came at the expense of investigations into TRC cases, Cele insisted that no police unit had been instructed to halt its work.

“There was never a time when any unit was told to stop operating because of the 2010 World Cup,” he said.

SAPS resources

He acknowledged, however, that resources were heavily directed towards securing the tournament.

“South Africa and the world had this focus that had to be dealt with at that particular time,” he said.

“But that does not mean all other activities of the South African Police Service were stopped.”

Cele said the Hawks operated independently under Dramat and would have continued investigating matters assigned to the unit.

“I would be lying if I said there was no extra focus on the World Cup at that particular time,” he said.

“But I would not say that it diminished the focus on other units. The Hawks had their own capacity and continued with the investigations that fell within their mandate.”

Commission chair Justice Sisi Khampepe asked whether he accepted responsibility for the limited attention given to TRC cases during his tenure because of the World Cup.

Cele replied that he accepted responsibility in his capacity as National Commissioner but said the issue was broader than the tournament itself.

“I take responsibility, but it was part of the broader functioning of the police,” he said.

“As National Commissioner, it would be foolish of me to say I was not responsible for the functioning of all units.”

He added that the effectiveness of police operations depended on the resources allocated by the government.

“The functionality of all units is based on the resources provided,” he said.

“The minister takes what is allocated in the budget. It would have been nice to ask for exactly what we wanted, but that is not how it works.”

Gabriel referred Cele to paragraph 41 of his affidavit, in which he accepted responsibility for delays in the investigation of TRC cases between 2009 and 2011.

Cele confirmed that he accepted responsibility for those delays.

“However, as I explained in my affidavit, there were several matters that required my attention and to which police resources had to be deployed during that period,” he said.

He also pointed to longstanding capacity constraints within the Hawks.

“The capacity of the Hawks has always been an issue. There was never a time when it was fully capacitated,” he said.

He acknowledged that while serving as police minister, he appointed General Godfrey Lebeya as Hawks head and worked to strengthen the unit’s capacity.

“The responsibility I take relates to the functioning of the police in the context of limited resources,” Cele said.

“That shortage of resources was not created by the National Commissioner. Budget decisions are made by the Cabinet.”

Pressed on what delays he was specifically accepting responsibility for, Cele again referred to the demands placed on police during the World Cup.

He said additional security concerns, including threats from al-Qaeda, required substantial police resources.

“I remember a statement by al-Qaeda saying they would be happy to see the bodies of Americans and British citizens during the World Cup,” he said.

“As National Commissioner, you had to maximise your resources to ensure those threats never materialised.”

Cele accepted that directing resources towards the World Cup may have affected the pace of other investigations.

“In principle, I agree,” he said when asked whether shifting resources inevitably resulted in delays.

“But I do not know in detail what was happening within the Hawks under the leadership that existed at the time.”

He maintained that no unit was ever instructed to stop its work.

“Nobody told organised crime, the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences units, the drugs units or kidnapping units to slow down because of the World Cup,” he said.

“All units continued operating, although perhaps not with the increased capacity they might otherwise have had because resources were prioritised for the 2010 World Cup.”

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

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