By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Hawks are investigating four high treason dockets involving AfriForum and Solidarity Trade Union, following high-level meetings in Washington.
In recent weeks, AfriForum and trade union Solidarity have made headlines for calling on the United States (US) to act against South African policies, particularly the Land Expropriation Act.
This led to US President Donald Trump signing an executive order freezing financial aid to South Africa.
Additionally, Trump offered refugee status to white Afrikaners, citing concerns of persecution.
Last month, the MK Party opened a case of treason against AfriForum and Solidarity for spreading misinformation about land and race policies.
Hawks head Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya confirmed that the dockets have been opened by different individuals from different political parties.
“There are four dockets opened by different people, maybe different political parties, that concern some individuals who may have crossed the border and communicated some things that may seem to be in the direction of high treason,” Lebeya said.
“I don’t want to mention the names of organisations, but there are some organisations that are suspected to be involved.
“Certain complainants have indicated that ‘this and that’ organisation seems to be advocating for something that appears to be high treason.”
He also highlighted that the investigation is still in its early stages.
“With those types of crimes, you need to be careful in the way in which you collect that evidence,” he explained.
Lebeya further indicated that the Hawks would hand over the dockets to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
“When the time comes, at the conclusion of the investigation, the NPA will determine as to whether the evidence we have collected is sufficient for anyone to be secured before court.
“On our own, we do not just go and arrest, then when we arrive at court, we find that there is nothing that these individuals have to answer for,” he explained.
In response AfriForum’s CEO Kallie Kriel said he was aware that four dockets of high treason were opened.
“I have no sleepless nights over the Hawks’ investigation against us. There are no grounds for these charges. Instead of wasting time on this issue, the Hawks should rather focus on the 1994 ANC leaders implicated for corruption by the State Capture Commission,” he said in a terse statement posted on X.
Kriel defended their visit to the White House saying it stemmed from frustrations with the South African government’s refusal to address their concerns.
He added that the party was ready to fight in court.
Kriel blamed Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC leaders for causing division through the implementation of the Bela Act and Land expropriation without compensation.
“It is Ramaphosa who signed the anti-Afrikaans Bela Act – an act that threatens the cultural existence of Afrikaans-speaking cultural communities. It is also Ramaphosa who signed the Expropriation Act. It is he who refuses to condemn slogans such as ‘Kill the Boer’ and it is the same president who denies the existence of farm murders,” said Kriel.
Meanwhile the Mamelodi magistrate’s court has ordered the NPA to pay the costs incurred by AfriForum’s private prosecution unit, after the successful conviction of a man who assaulted his female neighbour.
On November 12, the court found Irvin Thabo Ngobeni guilty of assaulting Nthabiseng Sebothoma. He was sentenced to three months in prison or a R6,000 fine, suspended for five years.
The case stems from an incident on September 23 2023, when Sebothoma was woken up by her neighbour in Moretele View in Tshwane.
Gerrie Nel, head of the AfriForum private prosecution unit, said the cost order was an indictment of the NPA’s inexplicable failure to prosecute without fear, favour or prejudice.
Nel said the order sent a message that were consequences when the criminal justice system failed victims.
It is disturbing that our first three private prosecutions all involved gender-based violence, which the NPA chose not to prosecute. This demonstrates that the criminal justice system only pays lip service to its stated strategy of prioritising cases involving women and children,” Nel said.