Scorpions ‘a law unto themselves’ – NIA head

This view is supported by Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi. The Sunday Times says that in a 32-page submission to the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry – which is hearing proposals on the future of the Scorpions – NIA Director-General Billy Masetlha alleged the elite investigative unit had become ‘a law unto themselves’. He also charged that the unit: interacts with foreign intelligence agencies to the detriment of national security; is controlled by former apartheid prosecutors; and leaks sensitive and classified information to the media. Full Sunday Times report

The commission also heard problems between the Scorpions and police were among the inevitable challenges of managing a society\'s law enforcement. The Institute of Security Studies told the commission: ‘Relocating the DSO into the police does not eliminate the problem, it simply shifts the responsibility for dealing with it.’ One of the issues under discussion, says a report on the News24 site, is the constitutional provision that there be only one prosecution authority in the country. The ISS contended the legal difficulty was not the most serious problem. But it was undesirable to have prosecutors deciding whether or not to take a case to court answer to police officers, as this might undermine the prosecution\'s independence. Full News24 report