INLSA
Johan Booysen
The threat of suspension hanging over the head of KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Major-General Johan Booysen has been lifted.
Yesterday his attorney, Carl van der Merwe, said he had received a letter from the state attorney on behalf of the national head of the Hawks, General Anwa Dramat.
The letter reads: “Our client has resolved to withdraw all intentions to suspend your client.”
The letter does not give reasons for the decision.
It comes after Booysen obtained two court interdicts preventing the police from suspending him.
Booysen had been facing allegations of “serious misconduct” and had been accused of “failing to act on information” allegedly given to him about excessive use of force by officers under his command.
The allegations related to claims of a death squad, made in a Sunday newspaper, that sparked three investigations – one set up by Dramat under General Jan Mabula, one set up by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, and one a disciplinary committee led by a colonel from the Hawks’ head office.
Booysen was also accused of failing to inform officers under his command that taxi boss Bongani Mkhize, who died in what police said was an exchange of fire with them in 2009, had secured an interim interdict to prevent the police from killing him.
Although the latest letter does not rule out disciplinary action, it does in effect mean that Booysen does not have to answer to the misconduct allegations made against him.
Booysen welcomed news of the letter. “I knew from day one that there would be no grounds to suspend me,” he said.
He was served with an initial “notice of intention to suspend” on February 12 that gave him five days to state why that should not happen.
He obtained an interdict in the Durban Labour Court on February 24 preventing the Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa, the acting police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, and Dramat from suspending him until they had given him an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
The court order also compelled Dramat to provide Booysen with information so he could respond to the allegations.
However, a month later, Booysen went back to the labour court, saying the police had failed to provide him with proper information and were in contempt of the order.
He said in court papers that the police had served him with a suspension notice on March 19.
The police undertook to set aside the suspension notice.
They were ordered to pay Booysen’s costs.
