Johannesburg - Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko and suspended Hawks chief Anwa Dramat have reached a “mutual agreement” for Dramat to be placed on special leave while his lawyers “work out his exit plan”.
This comes after the high court in Pretoria on Friday turned down his application to appeal the finding that Dramat’s suspension was unlawful.
The court was hearing an appeal application by the minister.
The court judgment indicated that Dramat’s return to work should not be determined by other processes, including possible appeals by the minister.
Dramat was suspended on December 23 pending the outcome of the probe into his alleged involvement in the illegal rendition of four Zimbabweans in November 2010. Some of the Zimbabweans who were illegally deported were allegedly killed by Zimbabwean police.
Nhleko has pointed out in Parliament that this was a human rights issue and that the government would not compromise on it.
Nhleko’s spokesman Musa Zondi confirmed on Monday that Dramat had not returned to work. He said Dramat would remain on leave until the matter had been resolved.
“The general took leave to allow for a process of talks with the minister,” he said.
“At this point, there hasn’t been talk of the SCA (Supreme Court of Appeal,” Zondi added in reference to a possible appeal by the minister.
Zondi said Dramat had written a letter to Nhleko in December and offered to step aside.
He pointed out that Nhleko had appointed Major-General Berning Ntlemeza to act in Dramat’s position during the time he is on special leave.
He added that after the court declared Ntlemeza’s appointment null and void, it was withdrawn by Nhleko
On the other hand, Parliament has not given an indication which committee would handle the Dramat matter.
This is after Nhleko had asked the portfolio committee on police to remove Dramat.
Chairman of the portfolio committee Francois Beukman said they were still waiting for the Speaker, Baleka Mbete, to direct them.
“There is no correspondence at this stage, and if I receive it I will inform the committee,” Beukman said.
The portfolio committee wrote to Mbete two weeks ago, asking her to give guidelines on where the minister’s request to fire Dramat should be dealt with.
The committee had felt that it was not clear in the constitution and in law which committee should preside over the matter of the removal of the head of the Hawks.
It is unprecedented in the history of the organisation that the minister has asked for the removal of the head of the specialised unit.
The head of the Hawks is appointed by Parliament, and it has powers to remove him.
Mbete’s spokeswoman, Mandlakazi Sigcawu, said the Speaker was still applying her mind to the portfolio committee’s request.
It is not clear how soon the committee would get down to business once the Speaker has given direction.
But opposition parties have questioned the attempt to remove Dramat at all costs so soon after he had asked for files on Nkandla, President Jacob Zuma’s controversial KwaZulu-Natal homestead.
DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard has told Parliament that this was an attempt to stifle any probe on Nkandla.
There was nothing else the government was interested in other than to get rid of Dramat by all means, Kohler Barnard said.
The Star