Top lawyers slam politically-driven use of Hawks

The turmoil in government over the SARS Wars took several twists and turns yesterday, notes Legalbrief – President Jacob Zuma expressed his 'full support and confidence' in Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, but said he had no power to stop the Hawks investigation of his Minister; Zuma’s son and the ANC Youth League both said Gordhan should do the right thing and hand himself over the Hawks; a businessman and former senior civil servant launched an undisguised attack on Zuma at a high-profile funeral; Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa for the first time conceded government was at war with itself and gave his full backing to Gordhan; former SARS officials gave warning statements to the Hawks as requested; the DA called for a parliamentary debate on the saga; and two of the pre-eminent legal minds in the country launched scathing attacks on the Hawks for bending the law to pursue a political agenda.