The fate of whether Hawks head Lieutenant-General Berning Ntlemeza keeps his job or not in a case brought by lobby groups Freedom Under Law and the Helen Suzman is in the hands of the full bench of the High Court in Pretoria.

The groups want judges Selby Baqwa‚ Jody Kollapen and Peter Mabuse to declare Police Minister Nathi Nhleko’s decision to appoint Ntlemeza to the position irrational.

The groups’ main argument is based on two high court judgments which found Ntlemeza to lack integrity and have been dishonest.

Advocate David Unterhalter SC‚ for the applicants‚ is set to advance that‚ given the two judgments‚ his appointment is irrational‚ unlawful and it therefore needs to be set aside.

He told the court on Tuesday that the two judgments were binding‚ saying the very significant determinations should preclude such a person occupying such a position.

“Findings can be appealed and they were never appealed against‚ therefore they are binding‚” he said.

The groups brought the application earlier this year‚ but failed to convince the court that the matter was urgent or prove that Ntlemeza’s continued stay as the head of the elite unit had the potential to cause irreparable harm. – TMG Digital/The Times