Disbanding crime-fighting Scorpions was a blunder, says Zondo

THIS week, former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo reignited an old debate by stating that the Hawks, a crime-fighting unit, are not equipped for the task. He criticised the ANC's decision to disband the Scorpions.

- MASABATA MKWANANZI and PULE MAKGALE

Speaking at the South African Council of Churches’ national church leaders’ anti-corruption conference in Johannesburg, Zondo said: “In the early 2000s, we had the Scorpions, which were very effective in fighting corruption. The criminals had begun to fear them.

“In 2007, at the ANC elective conference, a resolution was taken to disband them.

“And they were disbanded. The results are there for all of us to see what happened about the levels of corruption, because I don’t believe the Hawks, which were said to have taken their place, are up to that job,” he was quoted by IOL.

He said the State Capture Commission, which he chaired, in its report, refers to several cases that were lodged in 2017 by the board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), which was chaired by Popo Molefe.

“We all know that corruption at Prasa has been there for ages, and nothing effective is being done. This board had gone to the Hawks and reported these criminal activities, and there were statements given.

“At the time of preparing the report of the (Zondo) Commission, in early 2022, which was about five years later, there was nobody who was arrested, and the Hawks said they were still investigating,” he added.