City Power on Friday obtained an urgent interdict suspending the unlawful execution of a search warrant by the Hawks three weeks ago.
The Johannesburg high court held that the Hawks acted unlawfully when they raided City Power’s headquarters on September 17.
City Power had asked the court to order a halt to the Hawks’ search and seizure operations on the grounds that the warrant used was invalid and defective.
The Hawks had visited the City Power headquarters as part of an investigation into a R64m contract for the supply of electricity transformers. It was alleged that the payment was made but the transformers were never delivered in December 2023.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena welcomed the court ruling, saying it supported the utility’s view that the investigation had been irregular and lacked the proper procedure process.
“In today’s proceedings we really argued and exposed the fundamental defects in the Hawks’ application including the fact that the affidavit accompanying the search warrant was never properly commissioned with two Hawks officers themselves writing it and even commissioning it themselves,” Mangena said.
In court, City Power’s counsel Musa Mthembu exposed defects of the Hawks’ application. Mthembu said the affidavit had no official stamp.
He said the affidavit was riddled with hearsay, lacked facts and cited legislation without linking any clause to criminal conduct.
The court noted the affidavit failed to outline any prima facie evidence of wrongdoing and emphasised that a warrant of this nature could not stand when its supporting documents failed to identify a clear and defined offence.
City Power CEO, Tshifularo Mashava said: “You cannot raid a public institution based on a document that is neither commissioned properly nor grounded in fact. We see this as a fishing expedition disguised as an investigation.”
Mashava said there was always co-operation between them and the Hawks during the investigations but accused the Hawks of abusing their powers and disregarding legal principles.
“The court’s decision today sends a strong message that no authority, no matter how powerful, is above the law”, Mashava said.
Mashava added that the ruling reaffirmed their belief in the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.
“It also exposes the worrying trend of investigative overreach that threatens not only City Power but the integrity of our democratic institutions.”
TimesLIVE
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