Durban – A criminal who duped KwaZulu-Natal police into believing he was a Hawks brigadier, and who won accolades for his “crime fighting successes”, has been found hanged in a police cell just six hours after he was arrested.

Musa “Muzi” Khumalo was found hanged by a blanket in a Pretora police cell on Saturday.

He had fled South Africa after his cover was blown in July when KZN police spokesman, Colonel Vincent Mdunge, saw a picture of him that was being circulated as a wanted person.

Mdunge recognised him as the “brigadier” who had berated him for a comment he made to a newspaper.

His death after being on the run for the past two years, has raised suspicions that he may have been murdered because of information he had allegedly had that could have incriminated top police officers.

“He did not end his own life, he was killed … it was to silence him,” a police source told the Daily News yesterday.

“He had ‘dope’ on a lot of high ranking police officers. He had threatened to spill the beans on them.”

The source said Khumalo had close ties with national ministers, politicians and senior government officials.

After hoodwinking the police, he gained acceptance within their ranks and went on to impress them with his detective work.

In the past year, Khumalo had helped police smash local and international car theft and hijacking syndicates, leading to recovery of more than 40 stolen and hijacked cars in northern KZN.

Police later realised, however, that this had been a brilliant strategy by Khumalo to eliminate his rival criminals and use his “position” in the Hawks to sustain his alleged car theft and hijacking operation.

In July this year, police said three warrants of arrest had been issued for Khumalo in KZN – for murder, escaping from police custody and impersonating a police officer. Johannesburg police were also looking for him for impersonating a Hawks investigator.

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Cape Town – ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe has played down the divisions, chaos and violence – including an assassination attempt – that marred a nominations process in which President Jacob Zuma has emerged as the clear leader in the contest for power at Mangaung.

The ruling party’s national working committee met on Sunday ahead of today’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting in the wake of nomination conferences collapsing in three provinces.

Limpopo, the North West and the Western Cape failed to conclude their conferences by Friday’s cut-off date but were granted extensions. All three provinces harbour supporters of a change in the ANC’s top leadership.

But Mantashe said on Sunday: “On people with issues about the processes, there are no real matters. We have no reports of unhappiness.”

On Sunday Zuma said in Mgababa, south of Durban that reports of infighting within the ANC came from people who did not understand the organisation.

He also said that those who wanted leadership change should explain what was wrong within the organisation, Sapa reported.

Zuma has bagged an apparently decisive number of votes for his re-election as party boss from KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, the Free State, Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape.

But provincial conferences at the weekend were characterised by long delays, disputes over credentials, and violence, including the attempted assassination of North West ANC provincial secretary Kabelo Mataboge.

A group of Zuma supporters disrupted the the Limpopo provincial conference, while in the bitterly divided North West parallel meetings were convened by Zuma backers and by those pushing for his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe, pictured, to take over the reins instead.

In the Eastern Cape, some regions claimed that the rules had been violated at the provincial conference and complained about “thuggery”.

The disagreements could cast a shadow over the ANC’s 53rd national conference at Mangaung in two weeks’ time.

Mantashe said at least 80 percent of the party’s provinces and leagues had completed their nominations.

“We’ve completed nine conferences and the 10th is under way. That’s 10 out of 12 (the three leagues and nine provinces),” Mantashe said.

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Limpopo – For the remaining tenderpreneurs allegedly implicated in a Limpopo pothole tender scandal, Christmas might not be a good time.

The Hawks are planning more arrests in the R63 million tender scandal, which was allegedly of fraudulent benefit to Julius Malema’s cousin Tshepo and ally Collins Foromo.

Already 13 “tenderpreneurs”, including a senior manager in the Limpopo Roads and Transport Department, Mmakgomo Kgosana, have been arrested for fraud.

Tshepo Malema’s Arandi Trading Enterprise and Foromo’s TC Foromo Trading Enterprise are among companies that were awarded contracts to fix potholes by the department under questionable conditions last year.

Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko said on Sunday that more arrests would be made . “Our investigations are continuing. We will make more arrests, some of them will not enjoy Christmas,” he said.

The contracts were awarded in February last year after heavy rains in the province.

Ramaloko said Kgosana wrote a letter to motivate for the awarding of contracts to mend potholes. But Siviko Mabunda, of the Forum of Limpopo Entrepreneurs, alleged that some companies were paid for doing nothing.

He reported this to the Hawks and the Public Protector. Mabunda said tender procedures had been flouted in the awarding of the contracts. But former department spokesman Theesan Moodley told The Star last year that procedures had been followed.

“We are not worried at all because… we considered this to be cost-effective,” Moodley said at the time.

Roads and Transport is among five departments that were placed under administration last year for maladministration and financial mismanagement.

On Sunday, Ramaloko said some of the companies even placed bids to patch potholes on gravel roads. “How do you patch a pothole on a gravel road?” he asked, adding that some of those arrested appeared to be clueless about company registration and bidding for tenders.

On Wednesday, the Hawks arrested Cedric Phukubje, Calvin Legodi, Hlangelani Phasha, Precisous Lekolwane, Mabina Ratshidi, Denis Khoza and Mulalo Nelwamondo. Kgosana was also arrested.

Tshepo Malema, Foromo, Calton Marule, Portia Sebela, Sekgobokgobo Legodi and Betty Mashashane were arrested on Thursday.

All the suspects appeared before the Polokwane Magistrate Court last week and were granted bail of between R5 000 and R10 000. Their cases were postponed to January 29 and 30.

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