Eric Naki

Eric Naki

The ANC and the DA clashed at a media briefing yesterday after a meeting at Luthuli House in Johannesburg to discuss the dissolving of the Scorpions.

ANC general-secretary Gwede Mantashe accused the DA and the Scorpions of sharing a "passionate hatred" for the ANC when the two parties disagreed on whether the elite crime-fighting unit should be disbanded and incorporated into the SA Police Service.

DA leader Helen Zille, accompanied by the party's chief whip Ian Davidson, said the DA and ANC had disagreed on many issues during the discussion but the DA stood by what it believed was right for the country's security.

Zille told Mantashe and his deputy, Thandi Modise, that the Scorpions had been successful in fighting corruption - regardless of the offender's status in society.

Zille said her party wanted to "save the Scorpions" on behalf of the many South Africans who were concerned about the plight of the investigative unit.

But Mantashe disputed the unit's successes, saying instead it was turned into a "political unit" hellbent on fighting the ANC.

"We agree we need to improve the whole criminal justice system, not only one unit, and about the need to fight corruption, but we disagree about the successes of the Scorpions - when compared against that of the police," Mantashe said.