South Africa was due to get its first inside glimpse into the shadowy world of arms deals on Monday when the public hearings into the multibillion defence acquisition begin at the Pretoria High Court.  

But sceptics and even those conducting the probe into the controversial armaments package say the hearings are unlikely to shed much light on bribery and corruption allegations which have dogged the process for the past two years.  

In a recent statement, the three agencies involved in the probe revealed only that the public hearings would be done "without compromising the forensic or criminal aspects of the investigation or endangering the safety of the witnesses and informants".  

'We are not disclosing any names yet'

"Careful consideration is being given to ensure that only those aspects of the investigation that will not compromise the forensic and criminal investigations are heard in public," they said, effectively limiting the hearings to background information rather than questions of impropriety.

Even the public hearings themselves are shrouded in secrecy, with neither the public protector, the auditor-general nor the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions revealing who will testify or which aspects of the investigation will be subjected to public scrutiny.

Asked who was scheduled to testify at the hearings, which are set to last about two months, a spokesperson for the public protector said this was not being made public.

"We are not disclosing any names yet," said Nicolette Teichmann. However, she revealed that no one had been subpoenaed to testify at the hearings "at this stage".

"Up to now we have only invited people to assist with the hearings," she said.

Teichmann would not say how many people had been "invited".

With acknowledgment to Marco Granelli and Independent Online.