Durban — The former head of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial Anti-Corruption Unit, Kamlash Dalip Singh, also known as KD, was found not guilty of corruption in the Durban Regional Court on Friday.
He faced charges of corruption and allegations that he was paid a gratuity of R5 000 to assist a complainant.
Singh, who resigned from the SAPS, was arrested in December 2020.
He was allegedly approached by the complainant in a case of theft, which was under investigation by Singh’s unit. The complainant allegedly requested a progress report in the case. He was allegedly informed that something was wrong with the case. The complainant alleged that he gave Singh money. An undercover operation was conducted in which officers swooped on Singh’s office.
Magistrate Dawn Somaroo said evidence led by the State consisted primarily of two witnesses when it came to the merits of the trial. She said that in a trial-within-a-trial the court had given its ruling in which evidence was disallowed.
“The defence had questioned the recalling of the two witnesses in the main trial. The reason was set out in heads of arguments. The main crux of it was that the State was bound by its charge sheet, and according to the charge sheet concentrated on a specific date which was the day the trap took place, December 21, 2020, and events that unfolded,” she said.
Somaroo said the State did not have any other evidence in respect of what transpired that would link the accused to the commission of the offence. She said both witnesses could not be traced or contacted and did not want to testify in court.
Somaroo said the State bore the onus of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and in this particular instance the court failed to meet its onus.
Attorney Anand Nepaul said the State’s case was a myriad falsehood exacerbated by the false testimony of its witnesses.
Singh said he had an unblemished career, having been employed in the service for 36 years, and had been appointed to high-ranking positions including commander of the Serious Crime Unit of the detective branch Phoenix, assistant to the area head of detectives of Durban North, commander of the Durban North area task team, and head of the KZN Anti-Corruption Unit.
He said that in 2020 he headed an investigation into irregularities, corruption and fraud involving the police garages in Eshowe and Ulundi, and in that year, on December 15, he discussed and planned the arrest of the suspects.
Singh said that prior to meeting the unit members on the morning of December 21, he had received information that resulted in a decision not to effect the arrests on that day.
He said he had become the victim of a false complaint, an entrapment in which he was questioned by police officers, some of whom he had previously worked with.
Daily News