Mbeki releases report on controversial crime unit

PRETORIA (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki's government on Monday released an independent report that defended an elite crime fighting unit accused by his foes within the ruling ANC party of abusing power.

Bowing to pressure from the African National Congress, Mbeki has already approved laws to dissolve the FBI-style Scorpions, which have been caught up in the power struggle between the president and ANC leader Jacob Zuma.

The report by Judge Sisi Khampepe, commissioned to investigate the Scorpions, recommended the opposite, arguing that they were needed to tackle organized criminals in the crime-infested country.

The report had been circulating within the government for two years before it was released on Monday. While urging Mbeki to retain the Scorpions, the report criticized the unit for feuding with police and delving into matters outside its realm.

Frank Chikane, director general in the office of the presidency, told reporters in Pretoria it was being made public because of a need to inform parliament as it considered the bills affecting the Scorpions and police.

Chikane said Mbeki had accepted the report's findings and taken steps to restructure the Scorpions, suggesting the South African leader had fought to save the unit.

"There was no decision whatsoever against the recommendations of the Khampepe report. They were accepted by the president and the cabinet," Chikane said.

The South African leader has struggled to maintain his power since losing the ANC leadership to Zuma in December.

The Scorpions became a prime target for the Zuma wing of the party for spearheading a corruption case against him that could still stop the ANC leader becoming president when Mbeki steps down next year.

ANC delegates voted to get rid of the unit at the same congress that elected Zuma.

ZUMA CASE

The Directorate of Special Operations, as the Scorpions are officially known, was established to fight high-profile corruption cases. It scored successes against organized crime in a number of high-profile cases.

The unit is independent of the police and reports to the National Prosecuting Authority, which in turn answers to South Africa's Justice Department.

The Scorpions made plenty of enemies.

They waged a turf war with the police and were accused of using their power to settle scores, most notably in Zuma's corruption case but also in an investigation of the country's police chief.

In 2005 teams of Scorpions agents raided properties belonging to Zuma and his lawyer as part of the corruption case.

Zuma is scheduled to go on trial in August for fraud, bribery and other wrongdoing tied to an arms scandal.

The Zulu politician is widely seen as the frontrunner to replace Mbeki, who must leave office in 2009, and Zuma supporters have been purging party and parliamentary bodies of the most pro-Mbeki officials.

Besides differing on the future of the Scorpions, the two also have clashed on other policy fronts, stoking investor fears of political instability in Africa's largest economy.

Mbeki has pursued a policy of quiet diplomacy toward Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, while Zuma has signaled a tougher line. Zuma criticized Mugabe's government for failing to speedily release the results of the March 29 election there.

Although opposition parties supported Mbeki's effort to protect the Scorpions, the unit's fate seems sealed, according to one analyst.

"Saving the Scorpions is a dead issue. The decision has already been taken," said Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and Mbeki critic.

(Editing by Matthew Tostevin)