Publication: Sunday Times
Issued:
Date: 2005-10-16
Reporter:
Reporter:
The
police ineptitude in their handling of investigations into serious crimes in
this country never ceases to amaze. This week, the
police embarked on a bizarre search for a murder weapon when they exhumed the
body of Free State bureaucrat Noby Ngombane six months after he was buried.
They did not find it.
This incident comes hot on the heels of yet another
bungle when they only started searching for the Brett Kebble murder weapon a
week after he was killed. They also did not find it.
These are just two
examples among many other cases which bear testimony to the fact that the police
do not inspire confidence because of their clumsy
handling of sophisticated crimes.
It makes us wonder why the police would
want the highly successful Directorate of Special Operations (better known as
the Scorpions) disbanded or incorporated into the SAPS.
It will also be
fatal to the image of this country to destroy the unit that has achieved so many
successes in its short existence.
By constituting a commission to look
into the future of the unit, the minister of Justice is missing the point.
What needs to be fixed is the
oversight structure, and the unit should be allowed the freedom and space to
continue the good it’s doing.
With acknowledgements to the Sunday Times.