By Everson Luhanga
- The Johannesburg High Court blocked the Hawks from executing a search warrant against City Power, calling it unlawful and filled with legal errors.
- City Power says the ruling is a victory for fairness and warns investigators not to misuse power when investigating public institutions.
City Power has welcomed a Johannesburg High Court ruling that stopped the Hawks from carrying out what it called an unlawful raid.
The search warrant, issued on 17 September, had allowed the Hawks to raid City Power offices as part of a corruption and procurement investigation. But on Friday, the court suspended the warrant, finding serious legal problems in how it was obtained.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the decision showed that the Hawks had acted outside the law. “This case shows that the Hawks cannot simply barge into public institutions without following due legal process,” he said.
Advocate Musa Mthembu, representing City Power, told the court that the affidavit used to get the warrant was never properly commissioned. Two Hawks officers, Tlou Martin Nailana and Ramasela Lindy Molepo, were said to have written and signed it themselves – without an official stamp.
Judge Yacoob ruled that the affidavit was full of hearsay and failed to identify any specific crime. The judge also said the Public Finance Management Act sections mentioned by the Hawks did not define any offences.
City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava said the ruling showed the investigation was careless and unlawful. “You cannot raid a public institution based on a document that is neither commissioned properly nor grounded in fact,” she said.
Mashava said the ruling was a win for the rule of law and warned that “fishing expeditions” by investigators would not be tolerated.
City Power added that it supports lawful investigations but will resist any abuse of power.
Pictured above: City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava.
Image source: @TshifuMashava
