NO SECRET MOVES TO ARREST CJ – POLICE

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.

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