‘Hawks boss suspension ruled unlawful’

SOUTH AFRICA – The suspension of Gauteng Hawks boss Maj-Gen Shadrack Sibiya was unconstitutional, the High Court in Pretoria ruled on Friday.

Judge Elias Matojane said the suspension served on Sibiya in January was invalid and unlawful.

The court also declared invalid the appointment of Maj-Gen Elias Dlamini to replace him as acting Gauteng boss of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations.

In court papers, Sibiya accused the acting national head of the Hawks Maj-Gen Berning Ntlemeza of being motivated by the desire to take revenge on behalf of his “ally”, suspended police crime intelligence head Lt-Gen Richard Mdluli.

Ntlemeza suspended Sibiya pending an investigation into his alleged role in the illegal rendition of Zimbabweans to that country’s police in 2010.

Sibiya claimed in an affidavit that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate had exonerated him from any involvement in the rendition and he did not know why he was suspended. Sapa