Top-ranking police officer Brigadier Jap Burger, who investigated crime at Eskom, failed to appear at Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday due to fears for his safety. 

Scopa is holding hearings into allegations of corruption by former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter. Burger was described as "the missing link" in the committee's inquiry because he was the police officer designated to liaise with De Ruyter after he alerted the government of organised crime activities at Eskom. 

National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola told the committee that he had told Burger he must appear at the committee, despite his fears for his safety. 

"I did direct Brigadier Burger to be here, and he did raise some concerns about appearing publicly, but I said he should come," Masemola said.

Asked by MPs what was going at Eskom that a senior police officer surrounded by South African Police Service (Saps) felt insecure, Masemola said: 

The Eskom space is very toxic, and the members I sent there (to investigate) arrested our own members from Saps itself. Nothing that you get from Eskom can you take at face value. For example, there are calls from other quarters – (even from people who might report to me) – to say I should withdraw certain members (from the investigation). But we don’t rush to do that because there are too many syndicates, which are going all over to tell our investigators things and coming up with various information and smear campaigns. You can't take it at face value because it might just be people pushing an angle, including those from (inside) Eskom… But we are not afraid to tackle Eskom. We are tackling it, but the space is contested by good people and by bad.

At a previous committee hearing, Masemola said that he had no knowledge of the intelligence reports De Ruyter had commissioned from George Fivaz Forensic and Risk (GFFR) as he had directed Burger to deal with him. He said Burger later told him that he had passed on the information to the Hawks, and he had made no further inquiries. 

Masemola said neither he nor Burger had been given the Fivaz reports by De Ruyter.

Burger is no longer head of the Saps investigation, which has been taken over by the former head of Crime Intelligence, Peter Jacobs. 

Deputy Minister of Police Cassel Mathale, also at the committee, suggested that Burger give evidence in camera. This would mean that only MPs attend the meeting, which is usually open to the press and the public, and that they would not be allowed to disclose what was said. 

Democratic Alliance MP Alf Lees said that while he was sympathetic to Burger's concerns, he was not convinced that his public appearance was the main or only issue. Burger has already been named in numerous press reports in connection with Eskom, and his photograph could be found on Facebook, Lees pointed out. Lees expressed reservations about the usefulness of an in-camera hearing. 

African National Congress MP Sakhumzi Sonyo asked Masemola how he expected the foot soldiers of the Saps investigating Eskom to react if one of their most senior officers was afraid to come to Parliament.

"Brigadier Burger is frightened. What does it say to you, National Commissioner? What is happening between Eskom and the Saps? Are you worried that your very senior members are afraid?"

MPs across party lines were incredulous that the Saps had still not requested access to the Fivaz intelligence report. 

However, the head of the Special Investigating Unit, Andy Mothibi, who also attended the committee meeting, said that he now had the intelligence report and investigators were going through them. 

"We have counted 1 482 pages, made up of 13 sub-reports. We are acutely aware that we have to deal with this as speedily as possible to determine a course of action. That course of action could involve further investigations of Special Investigating Unit (SIU) , Saps, Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, and Investigating Directorate," he said. 

Mothibi said the SIU would also determine whether the commissioning of the reports – which De Ruyter has said were paid for by private funders – had been done properly or whether there had been maladministration. 

Scopa chair Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the committee would determine its next move after a telephone conversation with Burger to see if he could be persuaded to attend a meeting. It would also take legal advice on the implications of an in-camera hearing. 

"We have to talk to Brigadier Burger; that is the missing link. Something is rotten in the state of SA, and that something is Eskom," he said.