Durban businessman accuses IDAC of unlawful surveillance

In a shocking revelation, Durban businessman Thoshan Panday has publicly accused the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) of harbouring what he describes as “rogue” investigators.

The allegations stem from claims that IDAC’s senior investigator, Brian Padayachee, illegally intercepted his phone calls over a decade ago, raising serious questions about the integrity of the agency tasked with rooting out corruption.

Panday asserts that Padayachee, while serving in the KwaZulu-Natal Crime Intelligence Unit from 2010 to 2012, conducted unlawful surveillance on him, violating the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act of 2002 (RICA).

He claims that Padayachee was the investigator behind a court-driven investigation designated as Enquiry Number 145/2010, which aimed to cast a shadow over his business dealings.“

The conduct of Padayachee and certain colleagues involved fraud and contravened section 51(1) of RICA in their applications to the Designated Judges,” Panday stated.

Furthermore, he stated that he did not know when Padayachee was appointed as a Senior Investigator by IDAC, but he can however positively state that Padayachee was already working with the prosecutors attached to IDAC and the investigating officers attached to the DPCI on 15 October 2021 when he attended a meeting with his legalrepresentatives.“

Padayachee's role appeared to be to provide litigation support to IDAC and the DPCI in the criminal case against me.

Subsequent to this meeting, Padayachee has deposed to affidavits wherein he identifies himself as a Senior Investigator in the Independent Directorate of the NPA (IDAC) based at the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Pietermaritzburg”.

Panday has formally lodged criminal charges against both Padayachee and his associates within the KwaZulu-Natal Crime Intelligence Unit, seeking accountability for what he believes were serious transgressions of the law.Questions surrounding Padayachee's integrity have not been limited to Panday.

Former police minister Bheki Cele previously mentioned Padayachee in testimonies before a Parliamentary ad hoc committee investigating allegations raised by the KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

Cele suggested that Padayachee and another IDAC investigator, Dylan Perumal, were involved in dubious activities, specifically in intercepting his phone calls.“

They made sacrificial lambs of KZN General, who was heavily involved in the tapping of my phone,” Cele remarked.

In response to the allegations, IDAC spokesperson Henry Mamothame has categorically dismissed Panday's claims as “false” and “baseless.”

He contended that the agency would not engage in a media battle over ongoing legal proceedings.Mamothame asserted, “The character and conduct of Senior Investigator Padayachee are beyond reproach.”

He further claimed that the agency's investigators faced unfounded attacks from individuals seeking to escape accountability.

This controversy comes amid broader scrutiny of IDAC and its investigative methods.

This scandal comes amid broader scrutiny of IDAC's investigative methods. The agency has faced allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in other high-profile cases as well.

Businessman Kishene Chetty has echoed Panday's assertions, accusing IDAC of leveraging questionable tactics to secure convictions.

Chetty’s experiences, particularly surrounding cases such as Silverton Cas 143/01/2022 and Silverton Cas 335/05/2020, highlight similar allegations of procedural abuses and manipulation within IDAC’s operations.

Chetty alleges that the agency misled courts, with investigators misrepresenting evidence and circumstances to obtain warrants unlawfully.

Such violations echo Panday's claims concerning the agency's manipulation of judicial processes and abuse of power.

He has articulated concerns that IDAC investigators, specifically Padayachee and Dylan Perumal, have overseen a systematic exploitation of the law meant to protect the innocent.

Panday describes a troubling pattern where evidence suggests the Crime Intelligence Unit manipulated judicial processes to monitor individuals uninvolved in criminal activities.

He alleged that Padayachee misled the Designated Judge about the ownership of phone numbers included in his investigations, pointing to a systemic abuse of power within the agency.

Central to Panday’s plight is the figure of Andrea Johnson, IDAC's head of Prosecutions.

Panday contends that Johnson is fully aware of the illegal conduct of her senior investigators but remains inactive in addressing these serious issues.

This accusation adds another layer of complexity to an already volatile situation.“Johnson is the leader of the corruption as she is aware of this and she’s doing nothing.

IDAC/ NPA won’t give us the information that the judge ordered them to give us as to how they illegally tapped my phone, for us to get a fair trial purposes,” he added.