They are going to have to kill a lot of people to get to me… – SAPS whistleblower in hiding
By Chris Steyn
These are the words of South African Police Service (SAPS) whistleblower Patricia Morgan-Mashale who has been in hiding for 17 months.
This after she received messages the past weekend warning her that her location was no longer a secret.
The warning read:
"Hey love be careful they got hold of your address
"Please make necessary arrangements"
Morgan-Mashale responded:
"ok thanks
"Do u maybe know who it is?"
The informant responded: "Yes".
Morgan-Mashale asked:
"Who is it. I wanna expose them publicly"
"Cele" was the answer.
To which Morgan-Mashale retorted: "I knew it"
In her reaction, Morgan-Mashale wrote to BizNews:
"I got that message from one of my trusted sources in Crime Intelligence (CI)…
"All I can say is that the country is under siege and the security of the country are deliberately being compromised by the Minister and certain individuals in Crime Intelligence. The National Commissioner (General Fannie Masemola) are being side lined because all deputy commissioners have been instructed to report to Cele directly. President (Cyril) Ramaphosa is complicit because the entire country has called for the removal of (Police Minister (Bheki) Cele but because of one or another reason he is still happy with Cele and he declared it publicly on more than one occasion.
"They are using illegal tracking equipment to trace me but luckily I have people everywhere inside the department who are keeping me updated on everything.
"Police officers are not all corrupt; there are actually a lot of police officers who just want to do their jobs but they are being purged by a system that threaten your livelihood and even your life if u speak out and they know it. As soon as they touch people close to the Minister, they are being roped in very quickly.
"As I said Chris, I'm not afraid of them anymore and everyone must know that should something happen to me, Cele is definitely involved. I say this with confidence because even the investigation officer in my case said that the case is out of his hands and now in the hands of the highest authorities. Who is the highest authorities and why did they red-flagged me. The answer is that all the information regarding their unlawful activities are being passed to me first and I expose them on social media.
"I'm still safe where I am and I'm not going to run anymore. If they indeed found my address, let them come to me and get me. They must be aware of one thing, they are going to have to kill a lot of people to get to me because I have a huge number of supporters, including former police officers and security companies who are making sure that I keep safe. They decided that they are definitely not going to sit back and wait for another whistle-blower to be killed by these criminals. So I am protected on a 24 hour basis and I'm very grateful that there are still people outside there who still care about this country and is now in the process of standing up for their country."
Morgan-Mashale shared her story with BizNews in a recent interview:
Following up on the warning Morgan-Mashale had received, veteran violence- and police monitor Mary De Haas wrote to National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola.
In a letter sent by by email and WhatsApp – and copied to the Parliamentary committees on Police Justice and Intelligence Oversight – De Haas wrote:
"Good afternoon General Masemola
"Patricia MASHALE has received a tip off that's your rogue CIS members have found out where she is in hiding as we know she will be killed if found. Please note…her legal representative had been informed by the Free State DPP that the warrant of arrest will be withdrawn when she appears in court with her lawyer and the SPP has confirmed to him that bail will be granted. He is just waiting for confirmation of court date by his local correspondent.
"Please call in CIS management immediately to explain this illegal persecution of Ms MASHALE and order them to stop it immediately. Please bear in mind that even if they are taking instructions from the minister that is illegal and in terms of the SAPS Act and the Constitution that informs it and the responsibility for illegal actions will be yours especially if any harm befalls Ms MASHALE
"Regards Mary de Haas"
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*BizNews forwarded De Haas' letter to the offices of Police Minister Bheki Cele and National Commissioner Fannie Masemola for comment. This story will be updated should comment be received from the Ministry and SAPS.