Court throws out Winnie's warrants

Johannesburg (AFP) - Winnie Mandela won a round in her battle with officialdom yesterday when a court ruled that police were wrong in confiscating documents from her premises in their inquiry into an alleged kickback scheme.

The Rand Supreme Court decision cancelling the warrants police used in the raids on 1 March on the home and offices of Mrs Mandela constituted another victory in her effort to hold on to her government post as deputy minister of arts, culture, science and technology.

Sydney Mufamadi, the Safety and Security Minister, played down Mrs Mandela's court victory, saying that criminal investigation into allegations by police that she was at the centre of a scheme to receive kickbacks from a low-cost housing project would continue.

"The present court case was confined to the question of search warrants only, and did not deal with the substance of the allegation of criminal conduct against Mrs Mandela," Mr Mufamadi said in a statement.