KZN police say Scharnick’s criminal record was 'cleared by rogue cop'
From Left: Brigadier Nokuphila Ntuli, Deputy commissioner for Crime Detection, Major-General Anthony Gopaul and Brigadier Sipho Kunene.
Image: Willem Phungula
A police officer is under investigation following findings that earlier this year, he accessed the police system and cleared the criminal record of James Stuart Scharnick, an associate of embattled deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya.
The impromptu media briefing called by provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s office on Thursday was addressed by provincial Deputy Commissioner for Crime Detection Major-General Anthony Gopaul.
Gopaul discussed criminal cases linked to Scharnick, who has opened cases, including one of defeating the ends of justice against the South African Police Service’s head of Crime Intelligence, Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo, at the Pretoria Central police station.
Gopaul said after Scharnick disputed Khumalo’s testimony at the Madlanga Commission, that Sharnick had criminal records linked to carjackings and car theft, police in the province felt they should respond as most of the cases took place in KwaZulu-Natal.
Khumalo told the commission that Scharnick is “a serial hijacker” and linked him to criminal syndicates. Khumalo also claimed that a Toyota double-cab bakkie driven by Sibiya, was registered in Scharnick’s name.
Gopaul said police were shocked to discover that Scharnick's criminal records were deleted in the system by an employee in the CRCS (Criminal Records Systems Register) head office in Pretoria. He said that the employee would not have been aware that there was a backup record.
“The irony of his action is that he assisted us because after his claims, we went back into the system and we discovered that a certain employee had removed his records. However, we found his criminal records and can safely inform the public that Scharnick was convicted of carjackings and theft,” said Gopaul.
He said at this stage there are no records of Scharnick having applied for his record to be expunged.
Gopaul said their preliminary investigation has found that in court, Scharnick’s 18 cases involving carjackings and theft had resulted in a 'slap on the wrist'. He said the police in the province will ask the NPA how this happened.
“We need answers on how he got away with a fine,” said Gopaul.
The NPA's provincial spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the NPA would respond in due course.
Speaking to journalists outside the Pretoria Central police station on Wednesday, Scharnick said he had instructed his lawyers to pursue both criminal and civil action against Khumalo.
“We have to start with the lies that he put on record, that I was convicted of 18 hijackings. I have not been convicted of one hijacking in my life. I have my records from the Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) and if General Khumalo had any intelligence, as the head of intelligence, he would have picked up the phone and phoned the Local Criminal Record Centre, which keeps the records of all the cases,” said Scharnick.