The Johannesburg High Court declared illegal, the raid by the Hawks at City Power’s Headquarters, on the 17 September 2025.
This follows an urgent application brought by City Power to the Courts, ordering the suspension of the unlawful execution of the search warrant issued by the Hawks.
Tshifularo Mashava, CEO of the local power utility, said the Hawks were on a fishing expedition guised as an investigation.
“This order reaffirms our belief in the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. It also exposes the worrying trend of investigative overreach that threatens not only City Power, but the integrity of our democratic institutions” she said.
Advocate Musa Mthembu, of City Power, pointed to the sloppy paperwork of the Hawks’ application, including the fact that the affidavit accompanying the search warrant was never properly commissioned. Two Hawks officers -Tlou Martin Nailana and Ramasela Lindy Molepo, wrote and commissioned it themselves.
“Shockingly, it had no official stamp, rendering it legally invalid before the presiding judge.”
Mthembu also argued at Friday’s hearing, that the affidavit was riddled with hearsay and lacked specific details regarding alleged offences.
Picture: Supplied