Acting Hawks head 'saddened' by judge saying he lacks integrity, honour

Acting Hawks head Berning Ntlemeza was saddened by a high court judge's remarks that he lacked integrity and honour, the crime-fighting unit said on Tuesday.

"Ntlemeza has been deeply saddened by the comments made by North Gauteng (Pretoria) High Court Judge Elias Matojane when delivering his judgment on Monday," said Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi.

Matojane dismissed Ntlemeza's application for leave to appeal the High Court in Pretoria's ruling which overturned the suspension of Gauteng Hawks head Shadrack Sibiya.

"The third respondent [Ntlemeza] elected to withhold from the court the Ipid [Independent Police Investigative Directorate] report and the docket that was in his possession, to enable the court to make a proper assessment of the strength or otherwise of the case against the applicant [Sibiya]," he said Monday.

"I am of the view that the conduct of the third respondent shows that he is biased and dishonest. To show that the third respondent is biased, lacks integrity and honour, he made false statements under oath."

Mulaudzi said Ntlemeza would not comment further on Matojane's remarks because he had decided to appeal the judgment at the Supreme Court of Appeal.

"Such remarks, which fall outside the scope of the judicial process, will be referred to the appropriate forum such as the Judicial Service Commission for investigation once all the due process has been finalised and upon getting legal advice," he said.