Hawks (South Africa)
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The Hawks are the South African Police Services' Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), which targets
organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
,
economic crime Financial crime is crime committed against property, involving the unlawful conversion of the ownership of property (belonging to one person) to one's own personal use and benefit. Financial crimes may involve fraud ( cheque fraud, credit card fra ...
,
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
, and other serious crime referred to it by the President or another division of the
South African Police Service The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in ea ...
(SAPS). It was set up as the
Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
by the
Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...
administration in 2001 but President Jacob Zuma replaced it with the Hawks as its succession in 2008, with much new associates.


Establishment

The decision to replace the Scorpions with a new organisation (The Hawks) came from a resolution taken by the ruling
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
(ANC) at the 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress in 2007 in
Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province ...
, Limpopo. The ANC argued that government oversight was needed in such a body so as to avoid the agency being used as a political tool to investigate politicians. This followed from a power struggle between
Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...
and Jacob Zuma that resulted in an investigation into Zuma's involvement in the arms deal. The DPCI was established as an independent directorate within the SAPS in terms of Section 17C of the South Africa Police Services Act, 1995 as amended by the South African Police Service Amendment Act, 2008 (Act 57 of 2008). Certain provisions of the Act were found to be unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of South Africa in March 2011 in Glenister v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others. As a result, the Act was amended by Parliament in September 2012. Sections of the amended Act were themselves found to be invalid and deleted by the Constitutional Court in November 2014 in the Helen Suzman Foundation v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others; Glenister v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others. Following the judgement President Zuma reiterated his support for keeping the unit under the control of SAPS and thereby also under the control of executive government.


National Directorate Head

The following people have represented the DPCI as its national head: * Anwa Dramat 2009 – 2014 * Berning Ntlemeza (acting) 2014 – 2015 * Berning Ntlemeza 2015 – 2017 * Yolisa Matakata (acting) 2017 – 2018 * Godfrey Lebeya 2018 – present


Corruption

Detractors of the decision to reform the Scorpions into The Hawks expressed concern that the new agency would not be as effective as the Scorpions in dealing with government corruption.
Inkatha Freedom Party The Inkatha Freedom Party ( zu, IQembu leNkatha yeNkululeko, IFP) is a right-wing political party in South Africa. The party has been led by Velenkosini Hlabisa since the party's 2019 National General Conference. Mangosuthu Buthelezi founded ...
MP Koos van der Merwe described the decision to replace the Scorpions with The Hawks was done so as to "''protect ANC leaders and members from criminal investigation and possible prosecution.''" When the organisation was first founded its staff reported to then National Commissioner of Police
Jackie Selebi Jacob "Jackie" Sello Selebi (7 March 195023 January 2015) was the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service from January 2000 to January 2008, when he was put on extended leave and charged with corruption. He was also a former Pre ...
. Selebi was, at the time, under investigation for corruption by the Scorpions. In the period following the replacement of the Scorpions by The Hawks levels of corruption within and outside of government has increased. A number of studies have found the lack of political independence to investigate corruption as well as its dependence on SAPS has had a strongly negative effect on the organisation's effectiveness.


Controversies


Booysen/Jiba charges

In 2015 former head of The Hawks office in KwaZulu-Natal, Major General Johan Booysen, sued the state for wrongful arrest. Booysen was arrested in 2012 for allegedly being involved in operating a “death squad” as part of the Hawks Cato Manor organised crime unit. The Booysen arrest was initiated by
Nomgcobo Jiba Nomgcobo Jiba''wasthe Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions in South Africa. Early life and education Nomgcobo Jiba obtained her LLB from Walter Sisulu University in 1989 and went on to obtain her master's degree in Commercial Law in ...
, then acting national director of public prosecutions. Following the arrest Jiba was tried for "fraud and perjury relating to her failed attempts to prosecute Booysen." Booysen claims that he was "set up and criminally charged to stop him pursuing specific cases of corruption."


Gordhan investigation

In mid-2016 The Hawks were involved in a controversial investigation of Finance Minister
Pravin Gordhan Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan (born 12 April 1949) is a politician and anti-apartheid activist who has held various ministerial posts in the Cabinet of South Africa. He served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017, ...
following his ministerial appointment. Gordhan was investigated for his possible role in setting up and running a "rogue" investigatory unit whilst he was head of the
South African Revenue Service The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the revenue service of the South African government. It administers the country's tax system and customs service, and enforces compliance with related legislation. It is governed by the SARS Act 34 of ...
(SARS) shortly after Zuma was compelled to appoint him Finance Minister following public outrage at the firing of the former minister of Finance
Nhlanhla Nene Nhlanhla Musa Nene ( tɬantɬa born 5 December 1958) served as the Minister of Finance of South Africa under President Jacob Zuma from 25 May 2014 until his controversial removal on 9 December 2015, and under President Cyril Ramaphosa from 27 Fe ...
. Supporters of Gordhan believe the Hawks' investigation was politically motivated and done so as to remove him from office and lack legal merit. ANC member and head of the
Independent Police Investigative Directorate The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), formerly the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), is an agency of the South African government responsible for investigating complaints against the South African Police Service and mun ...
, Robert McBride, has accused the Hawks of being used by the ANC to fight internal political battles within the ruling party. It was alleged that the Hawks illegally detained and assaulted a senior SARS employee in an effort to take a hard copy of an email mistakenly sent to him in which SARS's legal counsel stated their disagreement with the Hawks and National Prosecuting Authority's decision to prosecute Gordhan.


Silverton investigation

In November 2020, two senior Hawks officials who were stationed in the Pretoria suburb of Silverton, Brigadier Peggy Morongo and Colonel Malesela Moylan were arrested along with former SAPS Colonel Paulina Mokgadi. It was alleged that their promotional appointments were obtained through fraud and corruption. Following their arrests, all three officers appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes court.


References


External links


South African Police Service
{{Authority control Law enforcement in South Africa Government agencies established in 2009 2009 establishments in South Africa