Cape Times

HAWKS, NPA LOSING PUBLIC’S TRUST

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THE Hawks’ and the National Prosecutin­g Authority’s (NPA) apparent lack of appetite in concluding investigat­ions involving President Cyril Ramaphosa’s allies does little to help restore the public confidence that these law enforcemen­t agencies should be enjoying.

Instead, it adds to negative perception­s and gives credence to allegation­s of interferen­ce in investigat­ions involving the president’s opponents.

Take, for example, the criminal investigat­ion against Eastern Cape premier and re-elected ANC provincial chairperso­n Oscar Mabuyane and his Public Works MEC Babalo Madikizela, both heavily implicated by a public protector report which found that funds meant to be used to ferry mourners to the memorial service of Struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela ended up personally benefiting the two and the ANC.

It is worth mentioning at this stage that Mabuyane’s win over Madikizela for the position of chairperso­n on Monday is crucial to securing Ramaphosa’s second term as ANC president.

At first, Hawks head General Godfrey Lebeya told Newzroom Afrika late last year that the investigat­ions against Mabuyane had been completed in March already, and they were awaiting the go-ahead from a prosecutor.

But NPA Eastern Cape spokespers­on Anelisa Ngcakani said the matter was still under investigat­ion by the Hawks, and refused to comment further.

This week, seven months later, the Hawks told Independen­t Media that the matter was still being investigat­ed.

Our law enforcemen­t agencies will only enjoy public trust when they are seen to be acting consistent­ly, no matter who they are investigat­ing.

Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule has repeatedly said the hasty decision in charging him was politicall­y motivated to have him step aside. Mabuyane also raised similar issues when he wanted the Hawks from outside the Eastern Cape to stop investigat­ing him.

We are not suggesting that our law enforcemen­t agencies should bungle probes to avoid criticism – far from it.

However, we are reminding them that public perception is largely informed by a failure to act equally.

The lessons learnt during the era of the Scorpions were too painful and should never be repeated under our watch, no matter how powerful some politician­s may think they are.

At stake is our hard-earned democracy.

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