WENDELL ROELF | CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - Jul 30 2008 15:23
Elite South African crime-fighting unit the Scorpions, which have been
accused by the African National Congress of abusing their power in
political cases, will be dissolved, a parliamentary committee said on
Wednesday.
The FBI-style Scorpions have been living on borrowed time since Jacob
Zuma beat President Thabo Mbeki for the leadership of the ANC in
December. Zuma's camp accused the Scorpions of engaging in a plot to
smear and deny Zuma the ANC top job.
The ruling party later approved a resolution calling for the
dissolution of the Scorpions, and Mbeki reluctantly agreed. The matter
is now before Parliament, which is dominated by the ANC.
"We are going to dissolve the Scorpions," Maggie Sotyu, the ANC
chairperson of Parliament's portfolio committee on safety and
security, said at a press conference in Cape Town.
She added that Parliament's job was to "implement the policies of the
ruling party".
Mbeki's decision to approve the dissolution of the Scorpions,
officially known as the Directorate of Special Operations, has been
criticised by the opposition, which fears it will increase corruption
and other crimes.
The move faces a challenge in the Constitutional Court.
Established by Mbeki in 1999 to fight high-profile corruption cases,
the Scorpions have scored successes against organised crime, despite
seeing their reputation attacked as a result of a corruption
investigation targeting Zuma.
The unit is not part of the police and reports to the National
Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The NPA in turn answers to South Africa's
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
In 2005, the Scorpions raided properties belonging to Zuma and his
lawyer as part of their probe of the politician, who is scheduled to
go on trial later this year for fraud, bribery and other wrongdoing
tied to an arms scandal.
Zuma is widely seen as the frontrunner to replace Mbeki, who must
leave office in 2009.
The ANC leader's supporters have been removing party and parliamentary
bodies of the most pro-Mbeki officials, and the rivalry between the
two has stoked investor fears of political instability in Africa's
largest economy.
It is unclear, however, whether disbanding the Scorpions will have any
bearing on the legal case against Zuma, who has pledged to step down
as ANC leader if convicted.
Mbeki fought to save the Scorpions and had the support of the main
opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, and others, but his
ministers were lukewarm to the idea in the face of pressure from the
Zuma-led ANC.
Parliament will debate the laws dissolving the Scorpions as part of a
wider revamp of the country's criminal justice system. Public hearings
are due to start on Tuesday.
The disbandment of the Scorpions is expected to be adopted by
Parliament in September. -- Reuters
Link to website:
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-07-30-parliament-scorpions-will-be-dissolved
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