|
'Thieves rule' at army base
05/11/2006 22:50 - (SA)
Erika Gibson, Beeld
Pretoria - Bullet-proof jackets from a military supply store were sold for R500 each, apparently for use in cash-in-transit heists.
"Sports equipment " was sold to a bogus undertaking, with an address in a military block of flats, in which no deliveries were ever made.
While soldiers and even senior officers of 5 SA Infantry battalion based at Ladysmith are said to be involved in various cases of fraud and theft of military equipment, only six soldiers in the defence force have been charged with fraud in the past three years.
The names of the six who have faced charges have been disclosed by Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, in response to a written question by Roy Jankielsohn, the DA's military spokesperson.
Making battalion 'ungovernable'
Two were found guilty, three still are being investigated and one case was thrown out of court.
A report of the inspector-general of the army summed it up in a report earlier this year:
"There have been no arrests, even although the guilty parties are known to all.
"This is making 5 SAI (Ladysmith) ungovernable."
"It is illegal to conduct outside business on military premises, or to collude with people to milk the defence force", said the report.
In one case of abuse of state property for personal gain, 260 litres of diesel was tapped from the unit's Casspirs and other vehicles, in full view of workers at 5 SAI battalion. One soldier admitted this was a regular occurence.
In another case, hard-drives were removed from three computers. Two ended up in the offices of a political party and another in an officer's home.
The problems were uncovered by Beeld newspaper because some of the suspects were conducting a reign of terror among the rest of SAI's troops.
Approved for officer training
The troops felt powerless to do anything because the perpetrators boasted that they had "top cover" for their activities.
Members of the group were apparently approved for officer training and enjoyed preference in being deployed abroad.
The Defence Force has not yet replied to questions sent to them by Beeld a week ago.
Allegations at 5SAI include:
thousands of rands intended for the regimental fund were never paid in;
army funds were drawn so that soldiers could attend private funerals; and
a senior non-commissioned officer had sex with female students during training.
photos and statements about these incidents were handed in, but nothing had been done and the NCO is still involved with training;
one of the suspects, who sold bullet-proof jackets, is also allegedly involved in burglaries; and
one of the unit's officers allegedly was found guilty in 1998 of robbery and illegal possession of a weapon in the Eastern Cape and given a suspended seven-year jail sentence. The case allegedly has been reported to the defence force, but nothing has been done.
- Beeld
|
News
