Off the wire
• China school bus driver prosecuted for dangerous driving  • Feature: Custom shoemaker treads the path of tradition  • Xi meets local senior officers, stresses CPC's leadership over army  • U.S. stocks open higher after ADP report  • Spotlight: Start of intra-Syrian talks steeped in uncertainty  • German cyclist Marcel Kittel wins first leg of Dubai Tour  • 1st LD-Writethru: China can deal with economic challenges: official  • Rebel rocket fire kills 11 in Syria's Daraa city  • Shanghai port imports over 400,000 automobiles  • Irish PM confirms Feb. 26 as general election date  
You are here: 　 Home

Suspended S. African police chief refuses to resign

Xinhua, February 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

Suspended National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega on Wednesday refused to resign amid attempts to bring criminal charges against her.

Phiyega told reporters in Johannesburg that the resignation is not in her purview as she just wants the opportunity to clear her name through due process, which she believes the schedule inquiry will provide.

The former police chief was speaking one day after the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) recommended criminal charges against her for defeating the ends of justice in relation to the Marikana tragedy, in which 44 people were killed during mining unrest in Marikana, North West Province, in 2012.

On Tuesday, the IPID recommended that Phiyega and three other police officials be charged with defeating the ends of justice.

Zuma sacked Phiyega last October pending the outcome of inquiry into allegations of misconduct, her fitness to hold office, and her capacity to execute official duties efficiently.

Phiyega is blamed for defects in police tactical plan which were believed to be among the factors that led to the Marikana tragedy.

Phiyega is also blamed for the lack of progress in addressing police brutality, the failure to rectify the resourcing crisis in the South African Police Service (SAPS), and lack of decisive action against SAPS members found to have criminal records.

Phiyega said at her Wednesday press conference that under the circumstances, the courts were the only just and fair platform to which she could resort.

She said she remained focused on the inquiry into the allegations of misconduct and her capacity to execute official duties efficiently.

Phiyega also claimed that people that she had worked with are harassed, destabilised, misplaced from their positions, suspended and some are resigning.

"They are being aggressively driven out of the police or rendered useless by having their responsibilities taken away, or put into post where they cannot do meaningful work," she said without naming them. Enditem