Pretoria – Hawks boss Mthandazo Ntlemeza has dismissed allegations reported in the City Press on Sunday, 26 March.
In the front page article headlined “S’bu Ndebele’s charges to be dropped”, the newspaper claims that the Hawks have been told what to do or influenced in their decision-making.
“The National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Lieutenant General Mthandazo Ntlemeza, would like to dismiss with contempt the allegations reported in the City Press newspaper dated Sunday, 26 March 2017.
“Lieutenant General Ntlemeza would like to put it on record that no one tells him or the Hawks in general what to do or who to arrest. Lieutenant General Ntlemeza has always stuck to the mandate of the Hawks, as prescribed in the Constitution and no one will ever be able to influence the decisions taken by this elite crime fighting unit.
“The Hawks are independent and contrary to what the newspaper wants the public to believe, the Hawks do not take instructions from anyone when it comes to issues relating to investigations, arrests and all matters that fall within the mandate of the Hawks,” said the Hawks in a statement on Tuesday.
Ntlemeza’s office said it respects the independence of the media and how much of a stakeholder they are in the fight against crime, but “it is malicious reporting such as the one contained in the above quoted article that disgraces the good work that scrupulous and progressive journalists are doing”.
The Hawks also addressed a story which appeared in the Daily Despatch.
“In their story headlined ‘Premier rejects ANCYL claim’ on their Friday, 24 March 2017 issue, the reporter perpetuates damning allegations that the Hawks are being used to persecute certain individuals.
“The paper [alleges] that Premier Masualle is a ‘close cousin brother’ of Lieutenant General Ntlemeza. To set the record straight, Lieutenant General Ntlemeza is not related to Premier Masualle. It also needs to be noted that the National Head of the Hawks is a staunch professional who does not discuss his work with family.”
The Hawks appealed to the public to give it space to do its work.
“We are determined to curb corruption at municipalities and at all spheres of public and private sectors. The Hawks will continue doing its job without fear, favour or prejudice.” – SAnews.gov.za
