No image available
/ 12 February 2008
President Thabo Mbeki failed to take action despite being told South Africa’s police commissioner faced prosecution over his alleged links to organised crime, the Star newspaper reported on Tuesday. The paper quoted an affidavit filed on Monday by Mokotedi Mpshe, the acting head of the National Prosecuting Authority.
No image available
/ 9 February 2008
The past few months have taught us a depressing lesson about the long and uncertain journey required by constitutional democracy. Foundational principles of accountability, transparency and the independent operation of institutions through which constitutional democracy is mediated, including the judiciary, are all under great pressure.
No image available
/ 5 February 2008
The Scorpions are the country’s last effective corruption-busting unit and disbanding them will affect the fight against organised crime, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. ”Every time special units were integrated [into the police] it has impacted on the ability to fight crime in that area,” party spokesperson Tertius Delport said.
No image available
/ 2 February 2008
South Africans need to defend the notion of a fair trial in relation to Jacob Zuma, said African National Congress (ANC) national executive committee member Mathole Motshekga at an ANC party gathering at Polokwane in Limpopo, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Saturday.
No image available
/ 1 February 2008
Police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi was charged with three counts of corruption and one of defeating the ends of justice in the Randburg Regional Court on Friday. He also faced an alternate charge of receiving an unauthorised gratification ”by a person who is party to an employment relation”. The case was postponed to June 26.
No image available
/ 31 January 2008
It will likely be a short first appearance for police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi in the Randburg Regional Court on Friday, a member of his legal team said. Selebi would be present at the court but it was likely that his case was going to be postponed, advocate Fanus Coetzee said on Thursday.
No image available
/ 31 January 2008
The labour minister has welcomed the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute two Sasol employees in connection with an explosion in 2004 in which ten people were killed. ”We are happy that our recommendations for prosecution have resulted in someone having to account for the flouting of … laws,” said Membathisi Mdladlana on Thursday.
No image available
/ 30 January 2008
Trade union Solidarity on Wednesday demanded that the Department of Labour publish a detailed report about an explosion at Sasol in which 10 people were killed. ”Solidarity demands publication about the 2004 Sasol explosion within 48 hours,” said union spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans.
No image available
/ 28 January 2008
President Thabo Mbeki has taken opposition leader Helen Zille into his confidence on the case of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi and on other contentious issues, she said on Monday. She met Mbeki at the Union Buildings in Pretoria for talks that lasted for longer than two hours.
No image available
/ 28 January 2008
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille arrived for a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki at the Union Buildings just before 2pm on Monday. The electricity supply crisis, the indictment of African National Congress president Jacob Zuma and the prosecution of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi were some of the agenda points for the talks.
No image available
/ 25 January 2008
High-profile criminal cases involving senior South African officials have renewed fears among opposition parties and the legal community that judicial independence may be at risk. President Thabo Mbeki’s government has had a testy relationship with the judiciary.
No image available
/ 24 January 2008
Speeding down a road with no worries of being caught on camera may be the fortunate situation for some Johannesburg drivers until next week after the National Prosecuting Authority has said that metro police must reapply for permission to use speed cameras on specific roads.
No image available
/ 22 January 2008
South Africa’s young constitutional democracy is now facing serious challenges that threaten to unmake a great beginning. In managing the contradictions within and between the ruling party and the state, and among state institutions, fidelity to the Constitution and the rule of law must be the starting point, writes Shadrack Gutto.
No image available
/ 21 January 2008
The decision to re-open an investigation into the Anton Lubowski murder has not yet been taken, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Monday. Lubowski, a Stellenbosch University-educated lawyer, a Namibian anti-apartheid activist and a prominent South West Africa People’s Organisation member, was assassinated 18 years ago.
No image available
/ 21 January 2008
The African National Congress (ANC) is getting rid of the Scorpions in order to protect ANC members from corruption charges, according to the leader of the Democratic Alliance, Helen Zille. Zille said on Monday that besides the seven convicted criminals on the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC), six NEC members are currently the subject of investigations.
No image available
/ 20 January 2008
The African National Congress (ANC) has laid down the law to President Thabo Mbeki following two days of discussions between its national executive committee and the Cabinet, the <i>Sunday Times</i> reported. The ANC was also moving to get Mbeki to appoint Kgalema Motlanthe as a second deputy president in government.
No image available
/ 19 January 2008
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has come out in support of the chief prosecutor of Pretoria’s decision to withdraw charges against advocate Gerrie Nel, head of the Scorpions in Gauteng, it said on Friday. The Pretoria Regional Court this week withdrew charges of corruption and defeating the ends of justice against Nel.
No image available
/ 17 January 2008
Police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi, who is facing corruption charges, will appear in court on February 1, prosecutors said on Thursday. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Tlali Tlali said Selebi would appear in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court. He gave no further details.
No image available
/ 17 January 2008
Jackie Selebi’s legal team would like to have him brought to court earlier than the National Prosecuting Authority’s proposed date of January 30, one of his advocates Fanus Coetzee said on Thursday. ”It is because of the availability — we all have practices we are running,” said Coetzee.
No image available
/ 16 January 2008
Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke will answer his critics in the African National Congress (ANC) in a statement to be issued on Thursday. The ANC’s national working committee has accused Moseneke of showing disdain for delegates to its national conference in December last year in remarks made at his recent 60th birthday party.
No image available
/ 16 January 2008
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has proposed that police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi present himself to the Randburg Regional Court on January 30. ”We wrote to Selebi’s attorney proposing this,” NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said on Wednesday.
No image available
/ 16 January 2008
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille has requested an urgent meeting with President Thabo Mbeki to discuss what she calls ”the growing perception of a constitutional and moral crisis” in South Africa. ”The implication of the police national commissioner and the ruling party’s presidential candidate in corruption cases is but one reason for this perception.”
No image available
/ 16 January 2008
The South African Police Service has accused the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of trying to obstruct the probe into Gauteng Scorpions head Gerrie Nel. This comes a day after the Pretoria Regional Court withdrew charges of corruption and defeating the ends of justice against Nel.
No image available
/ 15 January 2008
We are concerned about the tone of the debate around the contemplated trial of Mr Jacob Zuma, write Arthur Chaskalson and George Bizo.
No image available
/ 15 January 2008
The Presidency on Tuesday defended Thabo Mbeki’s handling of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi’s case. Addressing reporters at the Union Buildings, Mbeki’s legal adviser, Mojanku Gumbi, said Mbeki acted immediately when he learned that the National Prosecuting Authority was ready to proceed with action against Selebi.
No image available
/ 15 January 2008
President Thabo Mbeki should explain to Parliament why he is reluctant to reinstate suspended National Prosecution Authority head Vusi Pikoli, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. ”President Mbeki needs to clarify his position on the DA’s call for him to brief Parliament on his refusal to review his decision to suspend advocate Vusi Pikoli,” the DA said.
No image available
/ 15 January 2008
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) on Tuesday called on Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke to apologise for remarks he made about the party at his birthday celebrations. This comes shortly after an ANC statement saying that Moseneke’s comments showed disdain for delegates at the ANC national conference in December.
No image available
/ 15 January 2008
![]()
African National Congress president Jacob Zuma’s bid to have search-and-seizure raids declared unconstitutional will not derail the state’s case against him and French arms company Thint, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday.
No image available
/ 15 January 2008
There was no change in the status of the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) position on its investigation into police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi, the NPA said on Tuesday. ”There is no change,” said NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali. Selebi is on leave and has resigned his post as head of Interpol.
No image available
/ 14 January 2008
The Democratic Alliance on Monday asked the Independent Complaints Directorate to investigate the arrest of Gauteng Scorpions boss Gerrie Nel. This came after charges of corruption and defeating the administration of justice against Nel were withdrawn in the Pretoria Regional Court.
No image available
/ 14 January 2008
South Africa’s embattled police force on Monday sought to reassure the crime-ridden country after a weekend that saw its police chief placed on extended leave in a widening corruption scandal. The South African Police Service was under intense public scrutiny before it was disclosed last week that Jackie Selebi would face charges of corruption and defeating the course of justice.
No image available
/ 14 January 2008
Charges against Gerrie Nel, the head of the Directorate of Special Operations, or the Scorpions, in Gauteng, were withdrawn in the Pretoria Regional Court on Monday. ”After careful consideration of the evidence in the docket, the decision was made to withdraw the charges,” chief prosecutor Matric Lupondo said during Nel’s brief appearance.