Judge rules Scorpions’ hearing should be open to public

Police advocate Philip Jacobs earlier submitted that discussions around intelligence functions in relation to the Constitution and those about cases that are pending, and as such sub judice, should be held in camera. Counsel for National Intelligence Agency, George Bizos SC, argued that to not hear arguments in public due to issues relating to the Constitution and its interpretation and legislation was not well-founded. He also said, according to a report on the IoL site, that the perception that organised crime might get ideas from certain submissions and try to use them to their own advantage had no merits. Full report on the IoL site

Prosecutors should remain true to their role, and investigators had to fall under the command and control of the police, Jacobs argued before the commission. ‘The SAPS does not have a problem with the co-location of investigators and prosecutors as part of a multidisciplinary task team on a specific investigation,’ he is quoted as saying in a report on the News24 site. ‘But the prosecutor must remain true to his role and fall under the NPA, while investigators remain under the command and control of the police.’ Full report on the News24 site