Ntlemeza & Nhleko should be charged with contempt of court

13 April 2015

Acting Hawks boss, Berning Ntlemeza and Police Minster, Nathi Nhleko, should be charged with contempt of court for failing to comply with a variety of court orders compelling them to act in accordance with the law. These individuals are the latest in a whole host of senior government officials who have treated the law and due process with wanton disregard (see report).

They should be charged and arrested to send a strong message to the South African people and senior government officials alike that this sort of conduct will not be tolerated especially at the very top.

This follows the latest reports today that General Ntlemeza has blatantly defied  a court order by refusing to allow Gauteng Hawks head,  General Shadrack Sibiya, to return to work after he was unlawfully discharged by Ntlemeza, who himself, was unlawfully appointed. Ntlemeza was also the subject of a scathing judgement by the North Gauteng High Court last month that the he was "biased, dishonest and lacking in integrity and honour".  The judge added that the suspension of Gauteng Hawks Boss, Shadrack Sibiya, was done "without a shred of evidence".  

Minister Nhleko acted in direct contravention of a Constitutional Court order expressly prohibiting him from suspending the national Head of the Hawks, Anwa Dramat. He did so anyway and Lieutenant- General Dramat has not been reinstated almost five months later. The North Gauteng High Court also stated that the Police Minister's action was "unlawful", "invalid" and must be "set aside". This effectively means that Ntlemeza's appointment was unlawful from the outset.   

That these individuals are still allowed to hold their current offices as top officials in the criminal justice system is an affront to the the rule of law government expects South African citizens to uphold. These individuals have acted with impunity that could have only been sanctioned at the very top.

These individuals, and many like them who, with every action, erode our critical democratic institutions must feel the full might of the law if they refuse to comply with and respect due process.

Statement issued by Adv Glynnis Breytenbach MP, DA Shadow Minister of Justice, April 13 2015