By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) wants Parliament to withhold the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) Amendment Bill from public comment, suggesting it might be unconstitutional.
The draft law is expected to address, among others, IPID’s authority and court judgments affecting law enforcement officers.
The new bill also deals with the independence of the IPID as well as the appointment of its executive director.
But the opposition party said the minister would still exercise power over the appointment of the IPID head, which could be unconstitutional.
The new IPID Amendment Bill is expected to address the judgment of the Constitutional Court in the case involving former head, Robert McBride, whose suspension by the then-minister in 2016 was found to have been unconstitutional and constituted undue influence.
DA police spokesperson Andrew Whitfield said section four of the bill still gave the minister powers to appoint the IPID head and this was a change from the previous bill.
He said the reason the bill had to be brought to Parliament was because the Constitutional Court found there wasn’t independence granted to IPID.
“I’ve made it clear in my letter to the acting chairperson that the committee should seek a legal opinion from Parliament’s legal advisors, to determine if the bill is in fact constitutional. The DA does not believe that the bill is constitutionally compliant.”
Whitfield said the bill should not go out for public comment until all constitutional concerns about the draft were resolved.