A brief history of the dishonourable and dishonest Berning Ntlemeza
Hawks boss, Berning Ntlemeza - Picture: Gallo Mthandazo Berning Ntlemeza’s rise to become one of SA’s most powerful law enforcers in SA did not get off to an auspicious start. Before he was even permanently appointed to head the elite police unit, the Directorate For Priority Crime Investigation, called the “the Hawks”, he was already mired in litigation. This was because Ntlemeza — before that, a little known deputy provincial police commissioner in Limpopo — was made acting Hawks head on the back of the dramatic suspension of his predecessor Anwa Dramat. When Dramat stepped down as Hawks head last year he said in court papers that the reason for his (illegal) suspension by Police Minister Nathi Nhleko was a smokescreen. Nhleko had alleged that Dramat had a hand in the unlawful rendition of Zimbabwean fugitives, two of whom had been killed on their return to Zimbabwe. But Dramat claimed that, in truth, he was being axed because of high level investigations he had been overseei...
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