Ann Eveleth
The pressure is on KwaZulu-Natal Attorney General Tim McNally after a Durban Supreme Court judge this week ordered investigations into senior Inkatha Freedom Party and KwaZulu Police officials.
Judge Nick van der Reyden said the State had failed to disprove allegations by hit-squad accused Romeo Mbambo, Gcina Mkhize and Israel Hlongwane that they were acting on orders when they murdered six African National Congress-aligned victims in 1992.
Van der Reyden said if these claims were not investigated, he would forward the trial transcript to the national ministers of justice and safety and security.
McNally decided not to subpoena IFP officials implicated during the trial. They were KwaZulu-Natal Safety and Security MEC Celani Mtetwa, Social Welfare MEC Prince Gideon Zulu, acting KZP commissioner Brigadier Petros Mzimela, former acting KZP commissioner Major-General Sipho Mathe, provincial legislative secretary Robert Mzimela, KwaZulu VIP Unit head Major Leonard Langeni and national IFP parliamentarian Lindiwe Mbuyazi.
Van der Reyden’s judgment has strengthened criticism of McNally. This week, more than 70 lawyers representing five legal organisations met in Durban to prepare formal submissions of their concerns over McNally’s failure to prosecute hit squad leaders and other criminals.
The lawyers — from the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (Nadel), Legal Resources Centre, Lawyers for Human Rights, the Black Lawyers Association, and the Durban Community Law Centre — expect to submit an initial report within two to three weeks. Nadel spokesman Krish Govender said they were “heartened” by Judge Van der Reyden’s judgment. Justice Minister Dullah Omar has undertaken to ask McNally for an explanation of his decision.
The Inkatha Freedom Party and other attorneys general, however, rose in defence of McNally this week. Attorneys general for the Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State, Transvaal and Witswatersrand said they found “completely unacceptable” the manner in which McNally had been “attacked”, adding that: “This is unfair towards Mr McNally and damaging to the administration of the criminal justice system.”
Inkatha Freedom Party spokesman Ed Tillet also defended McNally, charging that he was the victim of a politically loaded vendetta to replace him with an “ANC-friendly” attorney general.