Abstract
The Directorate of Special Operations (DSO) was set up in 1999 as a specialised unit of the National Prosecuting Authority with the dual responsibility of investigating and prosecuting national priority crimes, the main focus being high-level corruption and organised crime. Despite its successes, by 2005 critics were raising questions about its mandate and the strained relationship between the DSO and the South African Police Service (SAPS). Consequently, President Mbeki appointed Judge Sisi Khampepe to head a Commission of Inquiry into the mandate and location of the DSO. This article is a summary of some of the key issues raised in the Khampepe Report.
Highlights
In 2005 the legality of the Scorpions’ mandate was called into question and problems were raised about the apparently strained relationship between the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO) and the South African Police Service (SAPS)
In June 2006 President Mbeki and his Cabinet adopted the recommendations of the Khampepe Commission, but the report was only made public almost two years later, in May 2008, soon after Cabinet had endorsed draft laws to dissolve the Scorpions and have them integrated into the SAPS
The concerns of the Commission The Khampepe Commission of Inquiry was established to respond to concerns and questions relating to the role and functioning of the DSO that had been raised by the public, components of the SA CRIME QUARTERLY No 24
Summary
In 2005 the legality of the Scorpions’ mandate was called into question and problems were raised about the apparently strained relationship between the DSO and the South African Police Service (SAPS). (b) the jurisprudential soundness of housing the investigative and prosecutorial capacities of the DSO in one structure under the authority of the National Director of Public Prosecution (NDPP), with the minister for justice and constitutional development exercising final political responsibility over the DSO.
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