Why the Hullabaloo Over ANC Heavies? [Mail and Guardian, 2003-08-15]

Publication	Mail and Guardian Letters
Date	2003-08-15
Reporter	Various

South Africa should guard against becoming a "we are all equal before the law but some are more equal than others" banana republic.

It makes one indignant to hear leaders of the ruling party crying foul and complaining about the Scorpions unit's way of handling its investigations. Why find something wrong now that the Honourable Deputy President, Jacob Zuma, is under investigation?

The Scorpions were previously hailed as crime-busters of note for apprehending hundreds of sophisticated and dangerous criminals. They had already been carrying out arrests in the glare of television. There was no hullabaloo because those arrested "Hollywood-style" were not politically connected heavyweights of the ruling party.

President Thabo Mbeki, Minister Essop Pahad and African National Congress secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe have implied it is normal for the Scorpions to be aggressive in their probes when dealing with ordinary people, but abnormal if they apply this aggression to ANC heavies. No wonder there is rampant corruption and cronyism among ANC officials in the corridors of power!

Our politicians should be warned that ordinary people will not be fooled forever, not in this age of intellectual openness.

In the light of the above, there is a great likelihood that the Scorpions will be coerced into doctoring their findings on Zuma. Should we believe the outcome of the probe?

It really does not matter whether the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions reports directly to the president, the minister of intelligence, the minister of safety and security or the minister of justice and constitutional development, as long as effective and efficient service is rendered and the majority of our people are beneficiaries.

At the same time, I do not agree with directorate officials breaking down doors and jumping over fences during the arrest of alleged criminals in the presence of the media.

It is not necessary to involve the media in arrests and raids. If ordinary South Africans are happy with the service delivered, there is absolutely no need for media conferences to be told the unit is effective and delivering.

The impression generated by the presence of the media during these arrests is that the person is guilty before being given a chance to state his or her case in a court of law.

The directorate must drop its American movie-style way of operating. This is Africa.

A so-called review of the mandate of the Scorpions, a wing of the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions, is not in the best interest of the general public.

How will the Scorpions reproduce the high standards they have maintained if the police service, an under-resourced and under-qualified department, ends up taking them under its wing?