The Hawks say they are still undecided about whether they will investigate the Mail & Guardian, after presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj laid charges against the paper and two of its journalists.
“I can confirm at this stage there is no investigation by the Hawks into the Mail & Guardian or its affiliates based on the allegations relating to any violations of section 41(6) of the National Prosecuting Authority Act of 1998,” said Hawks spokesperson McIntosh Polela on Wednesday. “We do not immediately launch an investigation when a docket gets handed to us, we first establish the merits of the case and determine whether or not to proceed — we are still undecided on this issue at the moment.”
On Saturday President Jacob Zuma’s spokesperson Mac Maharaj formally laid charges against the newspaper and senior journalists Sam Sole and Stefaans Brümmer following a report that was due to appear in the M&G‘s November 18 edition suggesting Maharaj had lied during a section 28 inquiry by the now defunct Scorpions into his involvement in the arms deal.
Following threats of prosecution by Maharaj, and on the advice of the M&G‘s lawyers, the story was not published in full, but ran with large black blocks covering sections of the article alongside a headline reading: “Censored: We cannot bring you this story in full due to a threat of criminal prosecution.”
Of the charges levelled by Maharaj, one relates to an alleged infringement of section 41 (6) of the National Prosecuting Authority Act of 1998, which governs the dissemination of information garnered in a National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) section 28 enquiry.
Police were also asked to investigate a charge of theft, on the suspicion that the information in the possession of Sole and Brümmer was obtained unlawfully.
The Sunday Times followed the M&G‘s self-censored report with a story claiming Maharaj and his wife Zarina received bribes relating to the controversial arms deal.
In addition to the criminal charges, WDK Attorneys — Maharaj’s legal representatives — have not ruled out the possibility of a civil suit being launched by the presidential spokesperson in pursuit of damages against the M&G‘s Sole and Brümmer.
The M&G has since requested permission from NPA head Menzi Simelane to publish the contentious report in its entirety.
Abuse of state resources
Meanwhile, the director of the Institute of Security Studies’ (ISS) crime and justice programme Johan Burger said an investigation into the M&G by the Hawks could well be an abuse of state resources.
“If you scrutinise the SAPS Amendment Act of 2008, under which the Hawks operate, it does raise question marks over the investigation into the M&G. According to section 17d of that Act, it is on the prerogative of the national commissioner or the Hawks’s head to investigate cases but it is my understanding that these are for national priority offences only,” Burger said.
‘Waste of time’
Opposition parties have in the meantime slammed the move by the Hawks, labelling it a “waste of time”.
“Why would the Hawks be wasting their time on something like this?” said the Democratic Alliance’s spokesperson on police matters, Dianne Kohler-Barnard. “A mere detective at a police station could have taken up this investigation to establish how the M&G got their hands on this report and determine how serious the charges are. It would seem that Mac Maharaj is on his own mission and it is very sad the police and Hawks are being used by politicians to fight their own battles — something that should never happen.”
This sentiment was echoed by IFP (Inkatha Freedom Party) parliamentarian Mario Ambrosini, who cautioned the Hawks against allowing their priorities to become “blurred”.
“The Hawks are required to balance all interests involved in their investigations. In no way should they take actions which could have an adverse effect on the freedom of the press — something that at times should override certain state interests,” Ambrosini said.
United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa went as far as to suggest Maharaj had abused state resources before.
“I am afraid to say Maharaj is up to his old tricks again of using state resources to fight his battles,” said Holomisa. “He cost the country R12-million through the Hefer commission, when he falsely accused then head of the NPA Bulelani Ngcuka of being an apartheid spy. If the Hawks continue with this investigation, they will be deviating from their mandate — they should in fact look into the allegations levelled against Maharaj.”
Standard procedure
The Hawks’s Polela confirmed the instruction to consider an investigation came as a directive from the crime busting unit’s head, Anwar Dramat. But he said this was by no means irregular or indicative of political interference.
“It is pretty standard for this to happen,” Polela said. “We get involved based on the seriousness of the allegations put forward and take our next step once we determine if it is worth investigating.”
“It was decided to [consider looking into the charges against the M&G] because of the high profile of Mac Maharaj and the interest generated in the case,” added Polela. “However, there still remains the possibility we won’t be investigating the matter further.”