Ex-Hawks boss to face charges
The charges stem from allegations Anwa Dramat and his accomplices unlawfully handed Zimbabwean fugitives over to police from that country after arresting them.
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Former Hawks boss Anwa Dramat, his Gauteng counterpart Shadrack Sibiya and Captain Lesley Maluleke are to be prosecuted in relation to the alleged illegal rendition of Zimbabweans five years ago, the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed on Friday.
Dramat resigned last year after a long-running legal battle over his suspension which was ultimately found to have been unlawful after claiming he was being targeted over certain high-profile cases on which he was working.
The charges stem from allegations Dramat, Sibiya and Maluleke unlawfully handed Zimbabwean fugitives over to police from that country after arresting them.
“The accused were members of the DPCI (Hawks) and the charges arise out of their involvement in the arrest of seven Zimbabwean immigrants in November 2010 and January 2011 and the subsequent illegal deportation of four of them.
“Some of their items were taken during arrest,” NPA spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said.
The matter was investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, which produced a draft report recommending prosecution and a final report that cleared Dramat and Sibiya.
However, Police Minister Nathi Nhleko then commissioned a probe by law firm Werksmans, which recommended the two be charged along with then-Ipid boss Robert McBride who, the firm said, had doctored the initial report to protect Dramat.
McBride was suspended by Nhleko, but this was overturned in December on grounds similar to those applied in the Dramat ruling, revolving around the independence of both institutions.
Mfaku said Dramat, Sibiya and Maluleke would face seven counts of kidnapping, one of defeating the ends of justice and four of illegal deportation under the Immigration Act. Maluleke will face another three counts of robbery.
craig.dodds@inl.co.za
Weekend Argus