COPS RAID BANK MANAGER’S HOME, SEIZE ATM PARTS

MBABANE - Police officers raided a homestead belonging to Standard Bank Head of Security Charles Machawe Mthethwa where they seized over 50 electronic gadgets, including certain components of automated teller machines (ATM).

Mthethwa, whose homestead is situated at Mahlanya, is reportedly being investigated for suspected theft which occurred within the bank. The police officers are said to have ransacked Mthethwa’s plush house, where they took valuable items for investigation purposes. According to the police, Mthethwa is a person of interest in connection with the alleged theft which occurred at Standard Bank.

Among the items which were taken from the head of security’s residence, is a cellphone which is allegedly used to store the entire bank’s internal control system to protect customers’ privacy pertaining to online and cellphone banking. 

In total, the police took 58 electronic gadgets from Mthethwa, which were found at his place of abode.

The detention of the items came after the police obtained an order in terms of Section 52 (1) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.

Offence 

Section (52) (1) of the Act provides that: “If on arrest of any person on a charge of an offence relating to property, the property in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed is found in his possession, if anything is seized or taken under this Act, the person making the arrest shall deliver such property or thing, or cause it to be delivered to a magistrate within such time as in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable.”

In motivating the application to seize the items, Sergeant Msibi, who is stationed in Manzini under the Financial and Economic Crime Unit, informed the court that he was the investigator of a suspected theft reported at the station. According to the investigator, the matter was reported to the police by the bank’s Manager of Investigations and Fraud Risk, Sibusiso Mndzebele.

Mndzebele, according the investigator, allegedly received information about the theft of the bank’s ATM parts/components and other items belonging to the bank, which were reportedly kept at Mthethwa’s homestead at Mahlanya. He alleged that the bank’s head of security sold some of the items to other vendors without the bank’s consent. The items were allegedly also sold without the bank’s consent by Machawe Mthethwa, who is employed by the institution as a Physical Security Officer.

“Acting on investigations of this suspicion, I then applied for a search warrant to search Machawe’s homestead which is based at Mahlanya. A number of items were discovered at the suspect’s homestead. We then seized them from the suspect for investigations,” submitted the investigator.

Meanwhile, Mthethwa has since filed an urgent application for the release of the items, which he claimed had no connection with the investigations.

He informed the court that the security of the bank was now being compromised as all internal control systems created to protect customers’ privacy for online and cellphone banking was stored in the cellphone that was taken by the police.  He contended that some of the items that were taken by the law enforcers did not form part of those that were listed in the application for search and seizure. Mthethwa argued that the matter was urgent.

“A hearing in due course would not afford substantial redress to me as by the time the matter is heard and finalised under the normal cause proceedings, my duties as Chief Security Officer at my place of employment, Standard Bank Eswatini, would have been compromised as any breach of security at the bank would not be easily traced,” he argued.

Narrating events leading to the seizure of the items, Mthethwa told the court that on December 27, 2020, in the morning, his home was invaded by members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service. He said the police produced a search warrant that was giving the authority to search and they handed over a copy of same to him.

Warrant 

Mthethwa pointed out that according to the search warrant, the police officers were instructed to search for the following; any parts or component of an automated teller machine and cellphone in possession of the suspected person.

“Upon contextualising the contents of the search warrant, I allowed them to conduct the search. They further advised that I should call someone from my place of employment to witness the search and I did as advised,” submitted Mthetwha.

He asserted that after numerous phone calls to various employees, he managed to get hold of one of his colleagues within the bank’s legal department.

“Without taking the court through the gruesome details of the search, I was surprised to observe the police officers taking items that did not form part of the search warrant,” alleged the applicant (Mthethwa).

The applicant claimed that the attached items belonged to him, having acquired them through various auctions conducted by his employer over the years, dating back to 2008. He said he had in his possession evidence indicating payments he allegedly made directly to his employer’s account. Some of the items, according to Mthethwa, were to be utilised in his business, the idea being to invest into the business of an internet café.

“I must state further that after the search, I was not advised on any detention order granted by the court authorising taking of my items in terms of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act,” argued the applicant.

The bank’s head of security brought it to the attention of the court that he was clearly in the dark as to what was happening and he did not know where his items were being kept.  Mthethwa claimed that he was not privy of the intention of the police, but he wanted his things back in the same manner they were taken by the police. 

His observation was that what the police did to him was clearly an abuse of the criminal justice system and the court should not countenance their behaviour.

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