Publication: The Natal Witness Issued: Date: 2006-08-21 Reporter: Erika Gibson Reporter:

New Head of SANDF Legal Dept has Criminal Record

 

Publication 

The Natal Witness
Date 2006-08-21

Reporter

 Erika Gibson

Web Link

www.witness.co.za

 

The newly appointed director of prosecutions in the Defence Force’s legal department who has to make decisions about prosecuting soldiers, himself has a crime record.

Shockwaves rippled through military legal circles last week after the appointment of Brigadier General Ernest Zwane (40).

He replaces Brigadier General Annemarie Myburgh, the first female senior military judge, who became a general in 1999.

Zwane was found guilty in November 2005 of two charges of fraud after he claimed to have qualifications from Fort Hare University, among other claims. He was also found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition.

Zwane was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on the two fraud charges. The sentence was suspended for five years. For illegally being in possession of a firearm he was fined R4 000 and R1 000 for the ammunition contravention, or 18 months’ imprisonment.

Zwane and another Defence Force general, Brigadier General Petronella Mari, both employed by the SA Military Health Services, were caught by the Scorpions in November 2002 in an investigation into state officials with fake qualifications.

At the time of his arrest and until quite recently, Zwane was in the Defence Force’s legal department support service, which controls the department’s budget.

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota approved Zwane’s appointment after the appointment of directors in the legal services department dragged on for more than five months. One of the reasons was apparently because the former directors were not representative enough.

Defence Force legal practitioners said Zwane’s appointment has far-reaching negative implications for the efficient working of the military judiciary.

The lack of qualifications was apparently mentioned in a discussion about his appointment because he did not require any legal qualifications in his previous post. It was apparently said at the time that it was sufficient if a candidate just had the necessary potential.

In his new post he will be in control of all military prosecutors and they will appear under his authority.

A military legal official told Beeld that his oversight could technically mean that a prosecutor’s competence could be questioned in court.

It also means policy guidelines cannot be enforced if Zwane writes them, because these guidelines must be written by a legal practitioner.

With acknowledgements to Erika Gibson and The Natal Witness.


Them times!

The torture never stops.