Mthethwa must live with commission, court told
2012-12-13 20:24
Cape Town - Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa just has to
live with the establishment of a commission of inquiry into policing in
Khayelitsha, the Western Cape High Court heard on Thursday.
Peter Hawthorne, for the NGO Social Justice Coalition
(SJC), told the court Mthethwa's legal team had failed to prove the commission
would cause irreparable harm to the SA Police Service.
Hawthorne was responding to calls from Mthethwa's legal
team to declare Western Cape Premier Helen Zille's establishment of the
commission unlawful and unconstitutional.
Norman Arendse, for Mthethwa, said Zille overstepped her
powers by appointing retired judge Catherine O'Regan and advocate Vusi Pikoli
to probe allegations of police inefficiency in the area.
He said the Constitution conferred certain entitlements
to provinces to monitor police conduct and effectiveness.
Arendse said the premier and her cabinet were, however,
not entitled to issue summons or search warrants on police.
"Provincial commissioners are accountable to the
national commissioner, and not accountable to a provincial cabinet and
premier," said Arendse.
The court was packed with SJC activists, who led the call
for the commission to be established following a string of vigilante killings
in Khayelitsha.
Community members complained police inaction had led to
residents taking the law into their own hands.
The O'Regan/Pikoli commission was meant to hold public
hearings from 12 November to 14 December.
The commission was suspended pending the outcome of
Mthethwa's application.
- SAPA
