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Mail & Guardian

Directorate Of Special Operations

latest news & developments

Assembly approves Scorpions Bills

The demise of the Directorate of Special Operations, or Scorpions, drew closer on Thursday when legislation to disband the unit was approved.

ANC Youth League takes aim at Scorpions

“Grandiose” media tactics employed by the Scorpions may have influenced the judiciary, the African National Congress Youth League said on Tuesday.

Browse Mole report a ‘mixture of fact and fiction’

Suspended head of the National Prosecuting Authority Vusi Pikoli had a feeling that the the Special Browse Mole Report would cause trouble.

Disbanding Scorpions ‘will protect politicians’

The disbanding of the Scorpions will protect corrupt and criminal politicians from prosecution, the deputy director of Public Prosecutions warned on Thursday. The Directorate of…

Court ruling on Scorpions expected next week

Johannesburg businessman Hugh Glenister will likely hear next week whether his court bid to stop the government from disbanding the Scorpions has succeeded. The Pretoria High…

Scorpions Bill tabled in Parliament

The Directorate of Special Operations, or the Scorpions, had another nail hammered into its coffin on Tuesday, with the tabling of the General Laws Amendment Bill in the National…

Minister: All Scorpions probes will be finalised

Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula on Tuesday gave the assurance that all cases currently under investigation by the Directorate of Special Operations, or Scorpions,…

Pikoli lawyer, Simelane spar over justice minister

The arrest warrant against police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi was cancelled last year because acting prosecutions boss Mokotedi Mpshe thought the Scorpions might…

ANC: Khampepe report highlights our views

The African National Congress (ANC) said on Tuesday the Khampepe report highlighted many of its concerns about the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), which led to its…

Debate over Scorpions gathers momentum

Debate on the future of the Scorpions gained new steam on Monday as the government released a report from an inquiry it had commissioned into the elite detective unit. The…

Khampepe: Scorpions must stay

The existence of the Scorpions is ”as valid today as it was at conception”, says the Khampepe report released on Monday. ”Despite indications that crime levels are dropping, it…

Mbeki’s govt sounds death knell for Scorpions

President Thabo Mbeki’s government has approved the disbanding of the elite Scorpions crime-fighting unit, bowing to pressure from supporters of rival Jacob Zuma who accused it…

Plan tabled to tackle food price crisis

A plan to reduce the impact of rising food prices on the poor was tabled during an ordinary meeting of the Cabinet in Pretoria on Wednesday. The proposed short-, medium- and…

Mbeki withdraws application in Scorpions matter

President Thabo Mbeki has withdrawn his application to oppose a Johannesburg businessman’s bid to stop the disbanding of the Scorpions. In his answering affidavit filed in the…

KZN health dept complains about Scorpions raid

The KwaZulu-Natal health department has lodged a complaint against the Scorpions following search-and-seizure raids and alleged leaks to local media, a departmental spokesperson…