Pan Africanist Congress MP Patricia de Lille and the party's secretary-general Thami ka Plaatjie will appear before prosecuting authorities in Cape Town on Friday in terms of a subpoena to disclose information about the arms deal.  

The joint arms procurement investigating team alleged last month that the two were not sharing information with investigators and were interfering with the official probe by making unsubstantiated claims to the media.

The pair were subpoenaed in terms of Section 28 of the National Prosecuting Authority Act.

"We want to know what it is they threatened to discipline us with"

Local PAC members have received permission to picket outside the offices of the Western Cape directorate of public prosecutions.

De Lille said on Thursday: "We are ready to meet them to find out what they want from us. At this stage we don't know what more they want from us, since we have already given all our information."

However, the PAC's lawyers also wanted answers from the investigating team regarding the basis on which they had filed a complaint with national assembly speaker authorities against De Lille and her fellow MPs, PAC President Dr Stanley Mogoba and his deputy Dr Motsoko Pheko, she said.

"Before we proceed with the interview we want to know what it is they threatened to discipline us with. In terms of what law are they threatening to discipline MPs?."

In a joint statement issued by the office of National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka, the investigators said they had subpoenaed De Lille and Plaatjie "in defence of the interest of our country and institutions supporting our constitutional democracy".

He refused to name those he claimed were involved in irregularities

The subpoenas have been criticised by among others, the South African National Editors Forum.

De Lille has repeatedly claimed irregularities in the arms deal involving senior African National Congress members and gave her information to corruption buster Judge Willem Heath, who was later controversially excluded from the multi-agency probe into the deal.

Last month, she claimed another senior ANC member would be exposed by the media - following Sunday Times articles suggesting ANC Chief Whip Tony Yengeni had received a luxury vehicle as a kickback from a company involved in the arms deal.

Plaatjie went one step further, telling a media conference last month "before the end of this week some very senior members of this government will fall".

However, when it came to the crunch he refused to name those he claimed were involved in irregularities, resulting in a criticism of his party and damage to its credibility.
De Lille later apologised for the confusion caused. 

With acknowledgement to Sapa and Independent Online.