National Instruction 1/2015

The speaker denies failing to cordon off the crime scene, stating that Warrant Officer Mpangase received the initial information and Lieutenant Colonel Jacob assumed command, so establishing the cordon was their responsibility, not the speaker's.

“I deny that I failed to cordon off the crime scene. Paragraph 11(3)(a) of National Instruction 1/2015, this is a duty to secure and protect the crime scene by establishing an inner and outer cordon falls squarely on the first responder. As stated above, I was not the first responder. Warrant Officer Mpangase received the initial information and Lieutenant Colonel Jacob as the senior officer assumed command. The responsibility to make the initial scene safe and to establish a cordoning thereof, rested with them and subsequently with Lieutenant Colonel Jacob as the crime scene commander. I was acting under their command and was never instructed to perform this function, nor would it have been within my mandate to do so without such instruction.”

The speaker denies failing to call the Local Criminal Records Centre (LCRC), stating that as a subordinate officer acting under the command of Lieutenant General Jacob, he had no authority to make such a call.

“I deny that I failed to call the LCRC. Paragraph 13(2)(f) of National Instruction 1/2015 is unequivocal. The crime scene Commander must take immediate responsibility in requesting that the Crime Scene Examiner from the LCRC attend the crime scene for processing. I was a subordinate officer acting under his command and had no authority to make such a call.”

FSL's operation was governed by National Instruction 1/2015, National Instruction 8/2017, and the Protocol on the Search, Seizure, Handling, Processing, and Disposal of Illicit Drugs at the time of the June 2021 cocaine seizure.

“F S L 's o p e r a t i o n a t t h e t i m e w a s s u b j e c t t o N a t i o n a l I n s t r u c t i o n 1 / 2 0 1 5 , N a t i o n a l I n s t r u c t i o n 8 / 2 0 1 7 , a n d t h e P r o t o c o l o n t h e S e a r c h , S e i z u r e , H a n d l i n g , P r o c e s s i n g , a n d D i s p o s a l o f I l l i c i t D r u g s , t h e P r o t o c o l .”