Hawks boss fights to get back to work

Gauteng Hawks boss Major-General Shadrack Sibiya has launched an urgent application in a bid to enforce a rule that he be allowed to return to work, despite pending appeals, says a report in The Citizen. Sibiya filed an application asking the court to apply Rule 49 of the Rules of the Court, which enforces a ruling despite pending or future appeal, thus allowing Sibiya to return to work despite ongoing legal battles. Among other things, Sibiya argues that the conduct of acting national head of the Hawks Benny Ntlemeza leaves one with the feeling that he is hell-bent on removing Sibiya from office and as a result has embarked on what Sibiya regards as a 'fishing expedition and victimisation of those who do not align themselves with his desperate endeavours to falsely implicate me'. He also stated that the current state of affairs at the directorate threatens the security of the country and paralyses the morale of members. 'This is so on account of random selection of members who receive notices of intention to be placed on precautionary suspensions as evidenced recently.' Sibiya was referring to three Hawks officers who had received notices of an intention to suspend last week, soon after acting national head of the Hawks Ntlemeza filed an application to appeal the decision of Judge Elias Matojane, who ruled Sibiya’s suspension as unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid. Both Sibiya and Hawks boss Anwa Dramat were suspended for their alleged part in the rendition of Zimbabweans. Furthermore, in court papers Sibiya claims that he was reliably informed that Ntlemeza instructed Sibiya’s two secretaries to leave the office last Wednesday because they could not be trusted. 'Apparently, the third respondent (Ntlemeza) alleged that when he sends sensitive information to the office, it ends up with me. One left and the other refused to leave unless and until the instruction is in writing. They refused to give her a written instruction,' said Sibiya.