ISS Weekly Issue 13, 2012

Issue 13

13 April 2012

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Political violence a Pandora’s Box

Senegal’s new president Macky Sall should beware of people’s power.

Following the announcement by Senegal’s president Abdoulaye Wade that he plans to stand for a third term, unprecedented violence broke out in the streets of Dakar. Abdou Fall predicts that from now on, any leader who doesn’t perform will face the anger of the Senegalese masses.

Events

Pretoria, 18 April: South African Heritage Under Attack: from Rhinos to Pierneef`s - What is Going on?

The natural and cultural heritage of South Africa has been under fierce attack for the past few years. Media reports of poached rhinos, and priceless sculptures and paintings being stolen from Galleries and Museums compete for attention amidst reports of rapes and robberies. What is being done to address these crimes and to ensure that our natural and cultural heritage is preserved for posterity? Presenters from the South African Police Service, the South African Heritage Resources Agency and the University of South Africa will tackle these issues. They will discuss some ideas and thoughts on the current status and possible contributing factors as well as consider some possible solutions.

More Information

ISS Today

Why NATO Intervention in Libya is not a Victory for Responsibility to Protect

Jide Martyns Okeke, Senior Researcher, Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis Division, ISS Addis Ababa

There is a moral consensus on R2P as a framework for ending mass atrocities. However, the portrayal of the NATO intervention in Libya as a ‘victory’ for R2P is likely to do more harm than good.

Read more...

Crime Intelligence Head Saga Reveals a Growing Threat to the Rule of Law in South Africa

Gareth Newham, Head of the Crime and Justice Programme, ISS Pretoria

Disturbing allegations of a cover up affecting the SAP and the NPA bodes badly for the rule of law in South Africa.

New on ISS Africa

SA Crime Quarterly No 39

South Africa is experiencing the effect of failed expectations in several ways. Violent local level protests (misleadingly termed `service delivery` protests) are now an everyday feature of the expression of dissatisfaction with a multiplicity of perceived failures by local, provincial and national government. Rising electricity costs, local government corruption and overcrowded schools are just some of the things that spur the protests that express the frustration, anger, and sometimes the desperation of citizens.

The African National Congress (ANC) set high standards against which it would be measured. A negotiated peaceful transition from white minority rule, one of the most (if not the most) progressive Constitutions in the world, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and an iconic leader were all elements of the transition that set the benchmark for what South Africans believed they might expect from an ANC government.

In many respects the ANC has retreated from this high ground and in no way more painfully perhaps than through the abuse of state resources for personal gain. As we move towards a national election in 2014, preceded by the ANC`s own elective conference later this year, there is tremendous pressure on the ANC to begin to address this dissatisfaction.

Last year the Constitutional Court found that the Directorate of Priority Crimes Instigation (DPCI), was insufficiently insulated from political influence and interference. In order to meet the requirements of the Constitution and SA`s international obligations, a unit responsible for investigating corruption needs to be independent, and needs to be seen to be independent. The Court’s decision requires new legislation to address the shortcomings of the existing structure. Philip Stenning and Melea Lewis discuss the minority and majority judgments from the Constitutional Court, and offers international examples of how a new unit might be structured.

At the time of writing a Bill had been tabled in parliament that was a minimalistic response to the requirements of the Constitutional Court judgment, and fell far short of creating a structure impervious to political influence. Irvin Kinnes and Gareth Newham argues that to meet the requirements of the judgment, a unit responsible for investigating corruption should be separate from, and independent of, the SAPS. Christopher Reeves, in an article commissioned by the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, makes a case for a dedicated, independent statutory body to investigate corruption.

It is not clear quite how far the ANC will be willing to go in meeting the requirements of the judgment and establishing a highly effective anti-corruption body - not least because the decision to disband the Scorpions, taken at its policy conference in 2007, was a response to the ability of the unit to gather evidence of wide-scale fraud and corruption against its incumbent president. Berning and Montesh sketches the process that was followed to disband the Scorpions and presents the reasons given for its decline.