The High Court in Johannesburg has ruled that the raid by the Hawks on City Power’s premises was unlawful.

Last month, the Hawks went to City Power’s headquarters in Johannesburg as part of investigation into alleged fraud regarding a R64 million electricity transformer tender.

As a result, City Power approached the High Court on an urgent basis for the court to declare the raid unlawful.

The court has now ruled that the search warrant used by the Hawks to conduct the raid was invalid and defective.

City Power Spokesperson Isaac Mangena says the ruling is welcomed.

“We really welcome the Joburg High Court’s decision. In these proceedings, we argued and exposed the fundamental defects in the Hawks application, including the fact that the affidavit that accompanied the search warrant was never properly commissioned with two Hawks officers. Shockingly, it didn’t even have the official stamp rendering it invalid before the presiding judge.”