Pretoria - The Helen Suzman Foundation will only know next week whether it was successful in applying for a court order enforcing a ruling that Hawks boss Lieutenant-General Anwa Dramat must return to his office.
The foundation on Friday asked Judge Bill Prinsloo, sitting in the high court in Pretoria, to enforce his earlier order regarding the suspension of Dramat.
The judge ruled that Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko acted unlawfully and illegally when he suspended Dramat from his position and appointed Major General Benny Ntlemeza in an acting capacity.
While Dramat was due to return to his office, the minister meanwhile – a few hours after the ruling – filed papers noting an intention to apply for leave to appeal against Prinsloo’s judgment. This in effect meant that the ruling ordering Dramat’s return to office was put on hold pending the outcome of the appeal.
The foundation has now asked the court to enforce his order, pending the appeal.
Advocate David Unterhalter SC, acting for the foundation, said that due to the exceptional nature and importance of this case, the order for Dramat to return to office had to be enforced.
Counsel for the minister argued that there was never an application before court asking for Dramat to return to office. It was said that the foundation only asked that the minister’s actions in suspending Dramat be declared unlawful.
But the foundation, in its counter argument, said if the suspension was unlawful, it is clear that Dramat had to return to his office.
Judge Prinsloo will deliver his judgment next week on whether Dramat should in the meantime return to his office or not.
This will be after hearing an application by the minister on Monday morning for leave to appeal against Prinsloo’s original judgment.
The minister will be asking for leave to appeal before the Appeal Court in Bloemfontein.
The foundation has also meanwhile applied to the Constitutional Court for a declaratory order that the minister’s action in dismissing Dramat was illegal.
Pretoria News