IFP asks minister to intervene in Waterkloof Four saga

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Lindsey Schutters

In a statement on Allafrica.com, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has called on the Minister of Correctional Services Mapisa-Nqakula to urgently intervene in the Waterkloof Four saga, following the failure of Correctional Service officials to abide by a High Court ruling that two members of the so-called "Waterkloof Four" group will be allowed to serve the remainder of their sentences under house arrest.

"We understand and accept that the prison authorities and the legal representatives of Mr Tiedt and Mr Van Schalkwyk have a different interpretation of the law, which led to the two men's remaining sentences being converted to correctional supervision," said Koos van der Merwe MP, the IFP's Chief Whip and spokesperson for Justice. "[It is alarming] that these correctional service officials have ignored two court orders, and are now in contempt of court. We can no longer tolerate such disdain for our justice system," he said, according to Allafrica.com.

Van der Merwe called on Mapisa-Nqakula to urgently intervene, saying, "[t]his is fast becoming a great embarrassment to the Correctional Services department [...] because it has exposed massive incompetence and arrogance within the department." He pointed out that it was the department itself who approached the court in the first place, asking for the sentences to be changed. "We therefore call on the Minister to end this tug of war with the Judiciary, and do to the right thing by ensuring that her officials abide by the court ruling," Van der Merwe said.

Read the full article on http://allafrica.com.