Hawks head to decide KZN boss’ fate

Major General Johan Booysen fate will be decided by the national head of the Hawks. Picture: Supplied

Major General Johan Booysen fate will be decided by the national head of the Hawks. Picture: Supplied

Published Jan 21, 2016

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Durban - The national head of the Hawks is to decide on KZN Hawks boss Major-General Johan Booysen’s future.

This after the Hawks on Wednesday lost an application for leave to appeal a Durban High Court judgment setting aside Booysen’s suspension from his position as provincial Hawks head.

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, had, as of January 1, appointed Major-General Jabulani Zikhali to the KZN position, despite the court’s ruling in November setting aside Booysen’s suspension.

Hawks spokesman, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, had told the Daily News provincial head posts were never permanent positions, but held on a five-year renewable contract, depending on performance.

Asked on Wednesday about what was to happen with this position after their loss in court, he said Hawks head, Lieutenant-General Berning Ntlemeza, would decide Booysen’s fate.

Read:  Hawks lose bid to have Booysen suspended

Outside court on Wednesday, Booysen said he would now meet his lawyers to “explore a way forward”.

The Hawks also said it would meet to discuss its response to the court decision.

In denying the Hawks leave to appeal, Judge Anton van Zyl had said there were no reasonable prospects of success in another court.

Should the Hawks decide to take this further, it would have to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal to hear the appeal.

Hawks legal counsel, senior advocate William Mokhari, had argued the judge had erred in his decision in finding the high court had jurisdiction on this matter over the labour court.

Referring to Booysen’s founding affidavit referring to his suspension as being an irrational decision, Mokhari said rationality was not grounds to review the suspension, and that the judge had erred in considering rationality.

The third reason for the application for leave to appeal, Mokhari said, was the court erred in not taking into account that Booysen’s suspension was referred to the Bargaining Council, and that this matter was still pending.

Booysen’s legal counsel, senior advocate Gardner van Niekerk, said Mokhari’s argument was incorrect as irrationality was connected to legality. He argued that whether or not the Hawks exercised its power unlawfully was a rationality issue, and could not be excluded here.

He also said the Bargaining Council was a completely different dispute – a question of fairness and not a question of legality, which did not prevent the court from hearing this matter.

“There is no basis for the leave to appeal. (Booysen) was told: don’t worry, the suspension is just for 60 days, and he would be paid. We are now at the end of January and he is still suspended. If the leave to appeal is successful, (Booysen) might as well take his retirement and go,” said Van Niekerk.

Booysen was suspended in September over a fraud allegation, and challenged this in the Durban High Court.

He had contended that the decision to suspended him was unlawful because it was taken “for some ulterior purpose”, and was not one Ntlemeza could have reasonably arrived at if he had considered the relevant facts, including Booysen’s written representations prior to his suspension.

Booysen had claimed in court papers that his suspension over a typographical error on a document he did not author or sign, was yet another attempt to stop him investigating corruption involving senior police officers, and KZN provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni.

The judge found there was a strong suggestion that there was an ongoing move, “possibly even a campaign to unseat” Booysen. But, he said, there was insufficient evidence before the court to draw firm conclusions in this regard.

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