Ramaphosa enacts law to bolster the police watchdog's powers
The new legislation empowers IPID to investigate serious alleged offences committed by police officers, whether off duty or not.
- Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID)
- South African Police Service (SAPS)
- Cyril Ramaphosa
South African Police Service (SAPS) officers in formation. Picture: X/SAPoliceService
CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa has given more powers to the country’s police watchdog after signing the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) Amendment Act into law.
The new legislation empowers IPID to investigate serious alleged offences committed by police officers, whether off duty or not.
It also provides for pre-employment security screening investigations to be conducted on South African Police Service (SAPS) members.
The IPID Amendment Act has been long in the making and gives effect to an earlier Constitutional Court judgment that found former IPID head Robert McBride’s suspension by the then-police minister was invalid.
It said certain provisions were invalidated in the IPID Act that enabled the minister of police to take disciplinary action against the head of IPID without parliamentary oversight.
“The new law entrenches the institutional and operational independence of IPID,” said The Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.
“It makes it clear that the directorate must be independent, impartial, and must exercise its powers and functions without fear, favour or prejudice."
Magwenya said the newly enacted act was an outcome of a comprehensive review of the principal IPID Act of 2011, initiated by the Civilian Secretariat for Police.