Check out this excellent post by Shaun Laurens. He catalogues the ANC government’s ugly history of hindering law enforcement groups to protect political insiders, and then promoting those insiders to positions of even greater power! Seen from this historical perspective, the government’s threat to shut down the Scorpions is nothing new – just the latest in a long line of moves designed to protect political pals from criminal investigation.

Shutting down the Scorpions would take obstruction of justice to a whole new level, though. Groups like the Heath Commission were set up for the sole purpose of fighting corruption. But the Scorpions are an all-purpose law enforcement group: busting corrupt pols is only part of what they do. The Scorpions also have an admirable record of taking down organised crime syndicates, drug dealers, smugglers, and various other high-profile scumbags. It is absolute lunacy that Thabo Mbeki wants to ditch this superlative crime-fighting capability just because the Scorpions investigated some of his buddies. Is he really willing to allow drug lords and gangsters to roam free, just avoid the potential embarrassment of a future travelgate?