Hawks: DA initiates proceedings to have Police Minister fired
6 February 2015
This morning Judge Prinsloo denied the Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko's leave to appeal the suspension of Hawks boss, Anwa Dramat. Dramat must therefore be immediately reinstated.
The DA will write to the Chairperson of the Police Portfolio Committee, Francois Beukmam, urging that the Committee recommend that President Jacob Zuma fire Minister Nhleko for his unlawful suspension of Dramat in the first place.
In this morning's North Gauteng High Court ruling, Judge Prinsloo denied the Minister's leave to appeal and upheld his ruling that the Police Minister's action was "unlawful", "invalid" and must be "set aside".
The Court also ordered that the Minister must cover the costs and that the illegal appointment of an Acting Head was confirmed to be ‘unlawful, invalid and set aside'. Dramat must return to work no matter what desperate appeals the Minister pursues hereafter.
Additionally, the Constitutional Court last week upheld its ruling that sections 17DA(1) and (2) of the SAPS Act are "inconsistent with the Constitution and are declared invalid and deleted from the date of this order." This effectively confirms that the Police Minister may never suspend the Head of the Hawks without consulting Parliament.
Minister Nathi Nhleko, as found by both the North Gauteng High Court and the Constitutional Court, broke the law the minute he suspended Dramat.
The Police Minister has demonstrated his disregard for the rule of law and due process by suspending Dramat without consulting Parliament. Minister Nhleko then tried to bully Parliament into rubber-stamping his illegal conduct ex post facto. When it dawned on him that the law was not on his side, he allegedly attempted to offer Dramat a R20 million golden handshake.
With every illegal and frantic attempt to purge Dramat it is clear that Minister Nhleko is being pressured from the very top. It is becoming more apparent that his handlers at Luthuli House want Dramat gone by any means, without regard for due process or the rule of law. His inability to resist such undue political interference must cost him his job.
Parliament must abandon its baseless probe into Dramat's alleged ‘misconduct' and diligently apply itself to the Minister's brazen disregard for law and due process that must be met with immediate and decisive action.
The courts have ruled and it is crystal clear that Minister Nhleko was deployed by Number 1 to protect Zuma Inc from accountability. The Minister has attempted to do so by any and all means necessary and he has been exposed for the true Zuma loyalist we always suspected he was. He is well on the path to becoming another vexatious litigant who will appeal over and over again, knowing the result will remain unchanged, and equally so that the money comes from the taxpayers' pocket and not his own.
Minister Nhleko is, quite simply, not for fit office and Parliament must not tolerate such flagrant contempt of the law. He knew the Constitutional Court had determined that he may not dismiss the head of the Hawks unilaterally, and he went ahead and did it anyway.
The DA will apply pressure on the Chairperson of the Police Portfolio Committee to deal with the matter urgently, and call for the Committee to recommend his immediate dismissal. Lt General Dramat has crime to fight, and must reverse every decision taken by the illegally appointed Acting Head.
Minister Nhleko cannot continue with the business of capturing crucial state institutions to protect President Zuma and those close to him. Parliament cannot accept this, the people of South Africa will not accept this, and neither should the President.
Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, DA Shadow Minister of Police, February 6 2015
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