Phiyega will not be suspended: Mthethwa

When asked in an interview by the newspaper, if he would suspend the commissioner - who is facing allegations of defeating the ends of justice - Mthethwa replied: "No, suspend her for what?"

   

He said: "Somebody will come tomorrow and say you have done A,B or C so we must come and suspend you. It doesn't work that way".

  

This week the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said it would investigate claims against Phiyega that she allegedly tipped off Western Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Arno Lamoer about investigations against him.

    

Asked in the Sunday Times interview, if he would gain confidence by having a professional in charge of the police, Mthethwa replied "I think we are through [with the interview]".

   

He was also asked about an incident where rapper Kuli Chana was shot by police while they were working on a kidnapping case in the area.

   

According to reports, Phiyega told Lamoer on three occasions that she was aware he was under investigation.

   

The Sunday Independent reported previously that their telephone conversations had been legally recorded by crime intelligence operatives monitoring Lamoer's calls. He was allegedly associated with a Cape Town drug-dealer and well-known businessman.

   

On Tuesday, Phiyega's spokesman Lt-Gen Solomon Makgale said she welcomed the probe into the allegations.

   

"The national commissioner still maintain[s] that she committed no crime," he said.

   

-Sapa