Suneel Bellochun ran his own fingerprints through the Local Criminal Record Centre and reported back that he had no outstanding matters or criminal records, forming the basis of IDAC's report to Adv Batohi.
“Mr Bellochun had gone ahead and on his own, through the Local Criminal Record Centre, put through the fingerprints to see if there were any matters outstanding... He gave a report back that there were no matters that were outstanding on the LCRC. And it is on that basis that prior to Advocate Batohi leaving office, we had compiled a report, Chair, which said that there was no one in IDAC... that had outstanding cases, previous convictions, or pending misconduct.”
[p143 #4 A D V J O H N S O N]Day 150 · 29 Jul 2026Refers to: 2025-11Evidence: LCRC report / IDAC internal report
Advocate Batohi and Advocate Johnson were well aware of the potential serious consequences of their conduct which could compromise the investigation and place the safety of whistle-blowers like the Colonel at risk.
“Both Advocate Batohi and Advocate Johnson are well aware of the potential serious consequences of their conduct , which has the potential to compromise the investigation and place the safety of whistle-blowers like the Colonel at risk .”
Advocate Johnson gave a person of interest a copy of the docket to prepare himself and make a tailored statement, similar to what Advocate Batohi did to Advocate Johnson.
“Advocate Johnson did by supplying a person of interest with a copy of a docket to prepare himself and to prepare himself to make a statement , to tailor the evidence that is there in the case docket , is exactly the same what Advocate Batohi did to Advocate Johnson at that time .”
General Lebeya met Advocate Batohi on 2 September 2022 and gave her a copy of the Colonel's statement to see and read for herself the implications of Advocate Johnson's actions; the purpose was not to share it with a person of interest.
“I think it is likely that General Lebeya met Advocate Batohi on that day and gave a copy of the Colonel 's statement , which is what we expected him to do . The purpose of giving the statement to a copy to Advocate Batohi , the sole purpose of that is so that Advocate Batohi can be in a position to see for herself and read for herself the statement and the implications of what Advocate Johnson did . It was not given to her with the purpose of sharing it with a person of interest , definitely not , Commissioners .”
Advocate Johnson was informed about the Colonel's affidavit and allegations against her by Advocate Batohi's office, which the witness found concerning as it implicated Advocate Johnson in wrongdoing.
“I found it extremely concerning that Advocate Batohi would have told Advocate Johnson about a protected disclosure implicating her, Advocate Johnson, in wrongdoing.”
On 7 September 2022, Advocate Johnson approached the witness and revealed knowledge of the Colonel's affidavit and had spoken to Mr Bateman before meeting the witness.
“On 7 September 2022 , Advocate Johnson approached me at work , I was still at IDAC at the time , and asked me to see her in her office . ... Advocate Johnson told me she had been called by Advocate Batohi 's office , who informed her of the Colonel 's affidavit and the allegations against her, Advocate Johnson, contained therein. ... She also informed me that she spoke to Mr Bateman before meeting with me, and told Mr Bateman not to worry.”
Advocate Johnson was informed by Colonel Roelofse that Advocate Batohi had discussed a matter regarding a statement implicating Advocate Johnson in wrongdoing, and Batohi then revealed to Johnson that the Colonel had implicated her in wrongdoing, which caused disappointment in Johnson's conduct.
“On the 7th of September 2022 Colonel Roelofse told me that Advocate Johnson approached him at work and they had a brief meeting in the office. According to Colonel Roelofse Advocate Johnson told him that she saw Colonel's statement and mentioned the Colonel's name as well as the name of the officer who commissioned the Colonel's statement, Colonel Odendaal. He also told me that Advocate Batohi had discussed the matter with Advocate Johnson and showed her the Colonel's statement. In other words, Advocate Batohi now revealed to Advocate Johnson that the Colonel had implicated Advocate Johnson in wrongdoing. I was disappointed with Advocate Johnson's conduct.”
Advocate Batohi's conduct toward Advocate Johnson was similar to what Advocate Johnson had done for General Khan.
“In other words, Advocate Batohi is doing exactly the same as what Advocate Johnson did for General Khan. Colonel Roelofse, who told me that Advocate Johnson told him that she spoke to Mr Bateman before meeting him with Colonel Roelofse, and that told Barry Bateman not to worry.”
After Colonel Roelofse retired, Captain McLean was unable to secure a suitable prosecutor for the case because they had to wait for Advocate Batohi to vacate her post before approaching the NPA for a prosecutor due to past events in 2022 involving Colonel Roelofse and Advocate Johnson's conduct.
“After Colonel Roelofse retired I was unable to secure a suitable prosecutor for the case to progress insofar as Advocate Johnson is concerned. ... Commissioner, I had to wait for Advocate Batohi to vacate her post before I could approach the NPA again for a prosecutor. Because of what happened to us in 2022 when Colonel Roelofse approached Advocate, agh General Lebeya to approach Advocate Batohi and subsequent to that, Colonel or Advocate Johnson, then spoke to our witnesses.”
A new NDPP was appointed at the NPA in May 2026, which was different from the situation in August 2022 when Advocate Batohi was still at the NPA.
“When you went to the NDPP in May this year, what was different to what happened in August 2022? There was a new NDPP appointed at the NPA. That was the difference. We did not have Advocate Batohi here anymore.”
General Lebeya gave the Colonel's affidavit to Advocate Batohi, who then shared it with Advocate Johnson, replicating a pattern of sharing sensitive information seen before in respect of Brigadier Petley's criminal complaint against General Khan.
“General Lebeya gave the Colonel's affidavit to Advocate Batohi, which I did not take issue with...Advocate Batohi, by sharing the Colonel's statement with Advocate Johnson, did the same thing Advocate Johnson had done by sharing Brigadier Petley's criminal complaint against General Khan with him.”
Advocate Batohi never responded to appoint a prosecutor despite engagements by Colonel Roelofse with Advocate Batohi and General Lebeya.
“w e n e v e r g o t a n y r e s p o n s e f r o m h e r o f f i c e ... h e a l r e a d y a p p r o a c h e d A d v o c a t e B a t o h i , I d i d n o t s e e w h y a d i f f e r e n t r e s p o n s e f r o m A d v o c a t e B a t o h i t o t h e o n e i t w a s g i v e n t o G e n e r a l L e b e y a , n o r e s p o n s e , n o p r o s e c u t o r”
Captain McLean did not approach Advocate Batohi to appoint a prosecutor when he took over the inquiry in January, waiting instead for her successor to be appointed.
“wh e n d i d h e s a y t h i s t o y o u ? C A P T . M c L E A N : I n t h i s y e a r , a f e w w e e k s a g o ... A d v o c a t e B a t o h i i s s t i l l t h e r e ... C a P T . M c L E A N : C o m m i s s i o n e r , l e t m e j u s t g o b a c k ... w e r e q u e s t e d a s s i s t a n c e f r o m t h e N P A ... I d i d n o t s e e w h y a d i f f e r e n t r e s p o n s e f r o m A d v o c a t e B a t o h i ... n o r e s p o n s e , n o p r o s e c u t o r”
Captain McLean states that if Advocate Batohi wanted to appoint a prosecutor, she would have communicated this clearly rather than discussing the matter with a person of interest.
“If Advocate Batohi wanted to give us a prosecutor, why would you then discuss the matter with a person of interest, instead of just saying to General Lebeya, I am going to give you this prosecutor ...”
Captain McLean confirms he never requested a meeting or follow up from Advocate Batohi after the docket was given to General Lebeya.
“we just never heard anything from Advocate or General Lebeya or Advocate Batohi ... we never got any response from her office ... I never asked for a meeting or follow up”
Captain McLean asserts that it is wrong for Advocate Johnson to have told Colonel Roelofse that Advocate Batohi would not appoint a prosecutor without clear communication.
“If it was indeed like we were told that Advocate Johnson said to Colonel Roelofse ... yes, then there is a lot wrong”
No feedback or response was received from Advocate Batohi or General Lebeya regarding the appointment of a prosecutor despite ongoing requests and interactions.
“we never heard back from Advocate Batohi or General Lebeya ... we never got any response from her office ... no prosecutor”
Captain McLean testifies that Advocate Batohi's conduct was wrong in not appointing a prosecutor despite clear requests and information of wrongdoing in the department.
“yes, the re was lots, everything wrong with the conduct of Advocate Batohi ... I must address it ... give us a prosecutor to investigate the matter so we can put it to bed ... that is what our request was”
There was no meeting between General Lebeya and Advocate Batohi regarding the appointment of a prosecutor, though General Lebeya requested such from Advocate Batohi according to Captain McLean.
“When I had a discussion with General Lebeya, he said that is exactly what he did. What we requested, he requested from Advocate Batohi ... but he also does not recall having the meeting”
General Lebeya gave Colonel ROELOFSE's affidavit to Advocate Batohi, who then showed or gave the statement to Advocate Johnson.
“General Lebeya met Advocate Batohi and gave her the Colonel 's affidavit . And thereafter , Advocate Batohi either showed or gave the Colonel 's statement to Advocate Johnson”
Advocate Batohi's conduct might have constituted interference in an investigation, similar to Advocate Johnson's conduct with General Khan.
“do you similarly express the same view about Advocate Batohi speaking to Advocate Johnson about this investigation that you are now conducting into her behaviour ?”
Col Roelofse deduces that Advocate Batohi made exactly the same mistake as Advocate Johnson by showing the same affidavit to Advocate Johnson that Johnson gave to General Khan, indicating potential misconduct or interference.
“she made exactly the same mistake , if you want to call it a mistake , because it is not a mistake , as Advocate Johnson did by her actions”