KZN Hawks boss challenges suspension
The suspended head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal is set to challenge his suspension in the Durban High Court on Monday.
Maj-Gen Johan Booysen was suspended last Monday by Maj-Gen Berning Ntlemeza, the newly-appointed national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks.
Booysen’s lawyer said on Friday that an urgent application against the suspension had been lodged in the High Court. It was not immediately clear whether Ntlemeza had filed papers opposing the application.
Booysen has been suspended amid allegations of fraud amounting to R15,000 – an allegation he hotly denies.
This is the third time Booysen has been suspended. He was suspended in March 2012 by then Hawks boss Anwa Dramat.
He was again suspended following allegations of racketeering later that year in September and returned to work in September 2014.
However, this only happened after Durban High Court Judge Trevor Gorven dismissed the charges against him, finding that then acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba had no reasons for prosecuting him.
Following the Gorven judgment, a police internal disciplinary inquiry headed by advocate Nazeer Cassim SC also cleared Booysen of all wrongdoing.
“The facts demonstrate an agenda to get rid of Booysen because he was perceived (rightly so, I may add), as a determined, professional, competent, and tenacious policeman,” said Cassim in his ruling.