Scorpions hearings to be open

2005-10-05 14:44

Pretoria - Judge Sisi Khampepe on Wednesday ruled that commission hearings into the Scorpions' future will be open to the public.

"I am unpersuaded that compelling reasons have been advanced to me by (the South African Police Service) for the exclusion of members of the general public at these hearings," Khampepe told the commission.

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.

Organised crime

He also said that the perception that organised crime might get ideas from certain submissions and try use them to their own advantage had no merits.

"Organised criminals can afford good counsel. Nothing they gain here would be an advantage to them," he said.

The NIA's lawyer Marumo Moerano echoed these sentiments, saying an in camera debate made absolutely no sense.

Once Khampepe made her ruling, Jacobs proceeded to deliver the SAPS presentation on why the directorate of special operations (DSO) investigators should be absorbed into the police.

"Taking into account the history of the DSO and the factors leading to its establishment, it is clear that it was intended as a temporary measure and not a permanent structure," Jacobs said.

He argued that the skills and technology available to SAPS was by no means inferior to that of the DSO.

He said SAPS did not have a problem with the grouping of investigators and prosecutors as part of a task team on a specific investigation, but that prosecutors should remain true to their role under the NPA while investigators should remain under the control of police.

- SAPA