South Africa's Scorpion crimefighters to be disbanded

By Wendell Roelf

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's elite Scorpions crimefighters will be dissolved in a blow to President Thabo Mbeki, who defended the FBI-style unit against attacks by supporters of political rival Jacob Zuma.

Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula announced the disbanding of the unit to cheers in parliament on Tuesday as Mbeki watched.

Zuma defeated Mbeki for the leadership of the ruling African National Congress at a conference in December. The party also voted to eradicate the Scorpions for participating in what they saw as a plot to smear Zuma and deny him the ANC top job.

The unit raided properties belonging to Zuma and his lawyer in 2005 as part of their corruption investigation of the politician, who is scheduled to go on trial in August for fraud, bribery and other wrongdoing tied to an arms scandal.

"The Scorpions ... will be dissolved and the organized crime unit of the police will be phased out and a new amalgamated unit will be created," Nqakula said in the ANC-dominated parliament in Cape Town.

The move must still be ratified by parliament.

Established by Mbeki in 1999 to fight high-profile corruption cases, the Scorpions have scored successes against organized crime, despite seeing their reputation attacked as a result of the Zuma investigation.

The unit is not part of the police and reports to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The NPA in turn answers to South Africa's Justice Department.

The Scorpions have waged a bitter turf war with the police and have been 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.

Zuma is 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.

The rivalry between the two has stoked investor fears of political instability in Africa's largest economy.

HEAT ON SCORPIONS

National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi, who is the target of an unrelated corruption case, has branded the investigation of his alleged ties to organized crime as a vendeta by his enemies within the Scorpions and NPA.

Selebi, placed on extended leave by Mbeki last month after the NPA said it intended to charge him with corruption, is to appear before a magistrate in June. He has also stepped down as president of international crime-fighting agency Interpol.

"I think the heat has been on them (Scorpions) for quite some time," said Susan Booysen, a political analyst at South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand.