From the Editor
Richard Whitney was an American financier, and president of the New York Stock Exchange from 1930 to 1935. He was born into one of the most influential families in New York, and rubbed shoulders with luminaries such as J P Morgan. He was also a convicted embezzler. In 1938, this scion of the Wall Street Establishment was escorted in handcuffs by armed guards onto a train that delivered to him Sing Sing prison, where he served a little over three years for his misdeeds. Thirty six years later, Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th President of the United States, became to date the only President to resign the office, in the face of certain impeachment resulting from the Watergate scandal. Less than two decades later the US House or Representatives voted to impeach President Bill Clinton, stemming from the Lewinsky scandal. Though this was not mirrored in the Senate, and Clinton was allowed to serve out his remaining term, the message was clear - even the President of the United States was not above the law. Africa works a bit differently. Coming into operation in 2001, the South African Directorate of Special Operations - also known as the Scorpions - was a law enforcement agency that investigated and prosecuted organised crime and corruption. It was distinguished by being a unit of the National Prosecuting Authority, and not the South African Police Services. It boasted a staff of 536, which comprised some of the best prosecutors, police, financial, forensic and intelligence experts in the country. Soon, the Scorpions became notorious for their raids of houses of high-ranking politicians within the country’s ruling party. Raids were commenced at the houses of Deputy President - now President - Jacob Zuma, former Transport Minister Mac Maharaj and Durban businessman Schabir Shaik. Public confidence rapidly grew in the Scorpions’ ability to impact on organised crime. Money laundering and racketeering were added to its mandate and the Scorpions succeeded in obtaining the first-ever convictions for racketeering in South Africa. By February 2004, they had completed 653 cases, comprising 273 investigations and 380 prosecutions, resulting in an average conviction rate of 93%. Predictably, the Scorpions were officially disbanded late in January 2009 by South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, after coming into conflict with the crooked head of the South African Police Service, Jackie Selebi. The independent unit was replaced by police's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks. One of their first actions was to shut down the probe the Scorpions had been conducting into bribery among Zuma allies in a multimillion dollar arms deal. The South African Constitutional Court ruled that the legislation, which replaced the Scorpions with the Hawks, was “constitutionally invalid”. The reason being that the Hawks were “vulnerable to political interference.” South Africa's chief environmental watchdog, the Endangered Species Protection Unit, established in 1988 to fight environmental crime, was disbanded in 2003. During its short existence the ESPU enjoyed several big breakthroughs, for instance against ivory smuggling rings and abalone syndicates. The unit was subsequently integrated into the organised crime unit of the SA Police Service as part of a national restructuring initiative, severely compromising the country’s ability to fight environmental crime - which is often political. The Hawks have created an “Endangered Species Desk” , but see “political interference” above. In Zimbabwe, the Investigations Branch of the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority operated for over a decade out of Cecil House in downtown Harare, with stations in strategic locations throughout the country. Donor funding provided them with covert 4x4 vehicles and a state-of-the-art encrypted SSB radio network among other tools of the trade, but they were most effective because firstly, they managed to remain physically separate from National Parks headquarters, so their movements could not be monitored by those with ulterior motives, and secondly because in terms of Zimbabwean legislation they were gazetted peace officers in their own right, with the same powers as the police. Over the last ten years, National Parks Investigations Branch have bowed to internal pressure and moved their offices into the new National Parks complex, which means they are more closely monitored, and virtually all operations are now undertaken in concert with H�X�K�\�\����X�\��\�[H�Y�]][Y�\�H�\��]]ۛ�^K�H��H�[�\�]�[�[�H�XZ�[�[�H]��܈]��X�[�\�H[���ۈ\�\�H�\�Y���][ۘ[\���[��\��\�[�^�\�H[��\�Y�][ۜ���[��\��܈X[�HYX\���]�[��[H]X�[�YYY]]ۛ�^B��HY��X�[�[�\�XY�^�[�H\�X�\�Y�^[Y\�\�[��[H\�H�\��X�H�H�ܛ]�YH[�[����]\��]K�HXY�^�[�H\�YX�]Y�H�ۜ�\��][ۈوH�[Y�H�\��\��\�وY��X�H��Y��X�X�[X[�Y�[Y[�[��\�Z[�X�H][^�][ۋ��H\�H��[Z]Y���[�[��]X�[[�[���X�X�\��\�YۈH�ۘ�\و�Z\��\�K[�H���\�[��و����[[[ۙ�[�[�Y�X�X\�Y\�و\�H�\��\��\ˈY��X�[�[�\����N�ˈ�H�\�[�����˞��B��Y[�]�X���˞�B��Y�H
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