Western Cape top cop André Lincoln granted leave to appeal
31 October 2017
Cape Town – Police cluster commander for the Winelands district, Major General André Lincoln, was on Tuesday granted leave to appeal the Western Cape High Court's dismissal of his damages claim against the police minister.
"This is a victory for us," Lincoln said after Judge Judith Cloete granted him leave to take his case to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
After a fairly stern grilling of Lincoln's counsel, Paul Nortje and Anton Krige, Cloete said that in the context of the history of the long-running case, they were granted leave to appeal to a full bench of the SCA.
Nortje and Krige appeared astounded.
Lincoln, who was present in court in his blue police uniform, sued the minister for R15m in damages.
The action stemmed from claims that he was maliciously investigated and prosecuted.
In 2003, he was acquitted on appeal of 17 charges against him.
Initially, the suit included the minister of justice and constitutional development. However, he withdrew that part of his claim.
In the nineties, Lincoln had been commander of the Presidential Investigation Task Unit, under former president Nelson Mandela.
The unit was supposed to probe Italian mafioso Vito Palazzolo and his links to government officials, police, and businessmen.
Lincoln had been of the view that he was framed after fellow senior police officers realised he had gathered intelligence on their plans, including one to murder Mandela, News24 previously reported.
Some of the charges against him included fraud and theft.
