Glenister is still fighting the good fight

30 November 2012 - 02:39 By Sapa
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Businessman Hugh Glenister will return to the Constitutional Court to ensure that investigations by the Hawks are free from political influence, he said yesterday.

"How can the Hawks combat corruption within the public sector if the ruling party has control over who can be investigated and who is above the law?" he asked.

"The unit has its hands tied and is vulnerable to political interference."

In March the Constitutional Court ruled that part of the SAPS Amendment Act be sent back to parliament for amendment because it made the Hawks vulnerable to political interference.

The court's concerns related to the conditions of service of the unit's members and of its head, their job security, the appointment of members, flexible and unsecured pay scales and to whom in the cabinet they reported. The section of legislation in question enabled the disbanding of the Scorpions.

The Constitutional Court ordered the executive to amend legislation to give the Hawks greater independence.

When the amendment bill was passed, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said it guaranteed the unit's operational and structural autonomy.

Glenister gave notice of his application to the Constitutional Court yesterday.

His lawyers asked the court to give the executive six more months in which to amend the legislation and suggested that a new entity be created that was not accountable to the national police commissioner, the police minister or the cabinet, with the specific mandate of combating corruption.

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