Acting national police commissioner Lieutenant General Khomotso Phahlane has denied that the police planned to carry out a raid on the offices of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).

Phahlane dismissed the allegations as “outrageous“.

“The propaganda campaign embarked upon by Ipid and this baseless allegation‚ which is completely unsubstantiated by facts‚ must be responded to as it casts the South African Police Service in an undeservedly bad light‚” Phahlane said in Pretoria on Wednesday.

“We can categorically state that there were no plans by the South African Police Service‚ on my instructions or to my knowledge‚ to raid Ipid’s offices.”

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Ipid had in a statement said it had reliably learnt that the National Intervention Unit was on standby to raid their premises.

“If the information is true‚ this is yet more evidence of the systematic campaign to try and derail the investigation against General Phahlane‚ who is being investigated for various allegations including corruption‚ defeating the ends of justice and money laundering‚” Ipid head Robert McBride said in a statement.

He said his office would continue its investigations and called on SAPS to respect the rule of law.

But Phahlane questioned why would the raid had not been carried out if it was already planned.