A shorter, simpler version of why Gen Fannie Masemola is taking SAPS legal advisor Dipuo Ramorena-Tsoai to court, if you want clarity. -Written by
#Kubambezingelayo
■Basically Masemola’s issue here is that when IDAC was coming after Dumisani Khumalo and Dineo Mokwele and others, General Masemola had to act.
But before acting, he decided to consult the SAPS internal legal advisor Dipuo Ramorena-Tsoai to seek advice on how to deal with this matter.
So Dipuo Ramorena-Tsoai basically leaned towards the views of IDAC that there is a problem with the appointees. But clearly Masemola did not agree with that view so he exercised his authority to basically clear Dumisani, Mokwele and other of any wrong-doing.
And we know now that he was right because the courts have now cleared those appointees too. And we also know that IDAC and this SAPS lawyer were wrong.
So, it turns out IDAC had some SAPS members providing them with information through informal channels. That’s how IDAC got to know that Masemola had consulted the SAPS legal advisor and that the advisor gave Masemola advise to act against Khumalo and others but Masemola opted to do the opposite and free them instead. So IDAC is seeing that as a violation. But we have to remember that Masemola is the authority in SAPS.
Not the legal advisor. And the fact that I have seeked advise from you does not mean I am binded to act based on your advice. I can listen to legal advice and still act differently. Legal advice is exactly that. Advise. Not authority. When I seek advice from you I am not transferring my authority to you.
So here’s Masemola’s problem with the SAPS legal advisor. She shared the consultation info with IDAC. Something that violates Attorney-client privilege of confidentiality. She was not supposed to share her client info with an outside entity. Ofcourse she may argue that her client is SAPS and not Masemola, but still, IDAC is not part of the SAPS and she was still not supposed to share SAPS info with another entity.
So I think Fannie Masemola is in the right here. He must continue to pursue legal action against Dipuo Ramorena-Tsoai. And not only that, but SAPS should do the same. It’s interesting that Acting Commissioner Dimpane is not taking legal action against Dipuo Ramorena-Tsoai considering that she shared SAPS internal legal consultation info with an external entity.
#Masemola