MEDIA RELEASE: GEN RICHARD MDLULI
15 May 2012
Freedom Under Law (FUL) today launched an urgent application to interdict Gen Richard Mdluli from continuing to discharge any function as a police officer pending the judicial review of a series of decisions relating to his recent reinstatement as head of Crime Intelligence of the South African Police Service ("SAPS"). A similar interdict is sought against the Minister of Safety and Security from assigning any function or duty to Gen Mdluli before the review can be heard.
The urgent application has been set down for hearing on Tuesday 5 June 2012 in the High Court, Pretoria. An early date will be sought from the Deputy Judge President regarding the hearing of the application for judicial review thereafter.
Dr Mamphela Ramphele is the deponent to FUL's founding affidavit. She is a member of FUL's international advisory board, well known for her life-long commitment as a social activist. Detained and subjected to banning orders in the 1970s, she went on to become a co-author of the Second Carnegie Report on Poverty in South Africa, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town and Vice-President of the World Bank in Washington DC.
In her affidavit Dr Ramphele draws on an official report as well as affidavits made by two senior police officers who investigated criminal charges against Gen Mdluli. She describes the sequence of decisions which FUL seeks to be judicially reviewed: (i) the decision by the Head: Specialised Commercial Crime Unit on 6 December 2011 to withdraw criminal charges of fraud, corruption and money-laundering against Gen Mdluli; (ii) the decision by the Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions on 2 February 2012 to withdraw criminal charges including murder, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice; (iii) the decision by the National Commissioner: SAPS on 29 February 2012 withdrawing disciplinary proceedings against Gen Mdluli; and (iv) the decision on 31 March 2012 by the National Commissioner to reinstate Gen Mdluli as head of Crime Intelligence.