Times Of Swaziland: NO SECRET MOVES TO  ARREST CJ – POLICE

NO SECRET MOVES TO  ARREST CJ – POLICE
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BY JOSEPH ZULU  on 19/05/2015 07:09:00


MBABANE – The police overlooked an opportunity to arrest suspended Chief
Justice (CJ) Michael Ramodibedi when doors to his government allocated house
were wide open.
The National Commissioner of the Police, Isaac Magagula, revealed this during a
press briefing yesterday. He said this should then cement their stance that
there were no secret moves to arrest Ramodibedi or that the police were
harassing him.
Magagula said last Thursday, when members of the International Commission of
Jurists (ICJ) visited Ramodibedi on a fact-finding mission, the police had all
the opportunity to arrest him.
“Moreover, had we had a secret agenda as perceived, we would have used the
opportunity of the fact-finding visit by judges from the international
commission of jurists to gain access into the house and execute the warrant,”
he said.
Magagula was speaking in light of comments that the police were harassing the
suspended CJ. He dispelled allegations that the police stationed at
Ramodibedi’s house were harassing him.
Magagula said there were some people who were misinterpreting the statement that
was made by the Prime Minster (PM), Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini.
This was when the PM said government had taken a decision to approach the matter
of the suspended CJ differently.
The national commissioner said the warrant of arrest, which was originally
issued against the CJ, had been put on hold to facilitate a hearing and
adjudication process.
Magagula said police ‘camping’ at Ramodibedi’s residence were not there to
arrest him. He said the police will respect the announcement by the prime
minister that the warrant had been suspended for now.
Journalists who had gathered for the press briefing were, however, keen on
knowing why police officers had maintained their presence within the residence.
Magagula said the police still had interest to remain at the judges’ complex,
where Ramdibedi’s government allocated house is situated.
Noteworthy is that the police have been at the residence since April 18, 2015
when the first attempt to arrest Ramodibedi was made. Since the police arrived
to effect the warrant of arrest, Ramodibedi has been locking himself inside his
house to avoid being arrested.
Magagula insisted that police were not at the residence to execute the warrant
of arrest secretly. “We, therefore, take this opportunity to affirm that we
fully respect that the warrant has been put in abeyance,” said the national
commissioner.