Corruption fight put at ‘risk’ by moving Special Tribunal

The head of the Special Tribunal, Judge Margaret Victor, is apparently upset that the decision to move the tribunal from Johannesburg to Pretoria, published in the Government Gazette on 29 July, was issued in her name.

- Raymond Joseph

GroundUp

Victor was not consulted when the decision to move the tribunal was initiated as it was before she was appointed in November last year, according to a response to questions by the department of justice and constitutional development.

She was apparently also insufficiently consulted about the contents of the gazette notice.

One of the most effective weapons in the government’s anticorruption arsenal, the tribunal was established to hear applications by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to freeze and confiscate the proceeds of corruption, including money, properties and vehicles.

The tribunal has been based in the Booysens Magistrate’s Court since its inception.

The tribunal is central to the work of the SIU and was established to ensure the unit could swiftly apply for preservation orders without having to navigate busy court rolls to get matters before the high court.

The partnership between the SIU and the tribunal is symbiotic and statutory: the SIU investigates and initiates civil action; the tribunal decides and enforces remedies.