The Pretoria high court has interdicted the minister of police from conducting a board of inquiry into allegations of misconduct against Mpumalanga police commissioner Lt-Gen Daphney Manamela.
The board of inquiry was set to begin on Monday. The interdict will be in force pending the determination of the appeal processes by Manamela before the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The court on Friday also ordered that Manamela’s suspension on June 14 be lifted pending the hearing and determination of a review of the decision of the minister to bring additional charges against her.
Manamela was first suspended on February 24 2023 after the minister preferred charges against her. Manamela launched an urgent application for her suspension to be lifted and the minister’s decision to establish a board of inquiry reviewed and set aside.
On March 23 2023, an order lifting her suspension was granted.
However, on September 18 2023, the minister set down a board of inquiry, leading to Manamela bringing an urgent application for an order interdicting the minister from establishing the board of inquiry, pending the determination of the review application.
On October 4 2023, by agreement between the parties, an order was made postponing the board of inquiry indefinitely pending the determination of the review application.
In April this year, Manamela’s review application — in which she sought to review and set aside the minister’s decision to establish a board of inquiry — was dismissed by the Pretoria high court. Leave to appeal was also dismissed. Manamela then petitioned the SCA and the petition is still pending.
On May 27, the minister brought additional charges against Manamela and gave her notice of his intention to place her on suspension. This led to her bringing an application to review and set aside the minister’s decision to bring additional charges.
The minister suspended Manamela on June 14 and the notice of set-down of the board of inquiry was served on Manamela on September 6.
In arguments before judge Nomonde Mngqibisa-Thusi, the minister submitted Manamela’s application was not urgent in that she could still be afforded substantial redress in due course.
It was further submitted that the application was not urgent as Manamela was aware of her pending suspension as early as May and did nothing to bring this urgent application.
“I am of the view that the application is urgent in light of the fact that a board of inquiry is scheduled to sit on October 14,” Mngqibisa-Thusi said.
Should the application not be heard and Manamela’s petition and her appeal to the SCA be successful, Manamela would not be afforded substantial redress in due course as the board would have dealt with the same issues that were the subject matter of the appeal.
Manamela had argued her suspension was arbitrary and irrational in that she was not afforded sufficient opportunity to make representations before she was suspended.
On behalf of the minister, it was contended that the suspension was rational considering the nature, extent and seriousness of the charges levelled against her.
Mngqibisa-Thusi said she was of the view that the minister’s decision to commence with the board of inquiry went against the order of October 4 2023.
On an ordinary interpretation of that order, it was clear the minister was precluded from establishing the commencement of the board of inquiry until the review was determined.
“Ordinarily this means that the hearing of the review and its consequent appeals would be covered by the interdict.”
TimesLIVE
Ernest Mabuza
www.timeslive.co.za
