The Constitutional Court on Tuesday declared Judge Willem Heath's heading of the Special Investigative Unit of the Heath Commission as inconsistent with the constitution.
Heath's SIU, established during former president Nelson Mandela's tenure, was initially asked to investigate government corruption in the Eastern Cape. Mandela extended the unit's mandate to encompass the whole country.
In July, while addressing a two-day conference on corruption, Heath said the unit had recovered R314 million since it was founded in 1997.
Constitutional Court president Arthur Chaskalson said the functions of the head of the SIU were far removed from the normal functions of the judiciary.
He said the intrusive investigative quality of the SIU was incompatible with the separation of powers between the judiciary and the government, as required by the South African constitution.
The judgment was unanimous.
Source: Nwes 24.com
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