My "heart bleeds custard" for Tony Yengeni (Yengeni's counsel pleads for mercy, February 18) even though he is a "fall guy" and a very small fry in the arms deal saga.

In March 1998, as chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, Yengeni overruled defence department arms procurement chief Chippy Shaik (who warned then that SA could not afford the warships and warplanes). Yengeni instructed the department to proceed with the deal on "assumptions of better financial days ahead".

Parliament rubber-stamped the defence review wish lists despite repeated warnings about corruption. It has failed dismally throughout the arms deal saga to meet its obligations to SA.

By late 1998 the buzz around Parliament alleged that Yengeni was among the recipients of a £1m "first payment" by BAe Systems. The British government's response to requests for an investigation was that it was not a crime in England to bribe officials of foreign countries.

The German government was similarly complicit, the naval contracts for frigates and submarines being a consequence of the German steel/armaments industry bribery of former chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Yengeni's greed has cost the country billions. The arms deal has made a mockery of our transition to democracy, and represents the betrayal of the struggle against apartheid.

Five years have been wasted in government cover-ups and lies. Now we are told that Yengeni is "honourable but broke", and that a fine of R1000 is all he can afford.

It is the court's prerogative to decide how many years Yengeni spends in jail.

If, however, Parliament is to redeem any of its tattered reputation, it must immediately expel Yengeni. Madam speaker, rightly and honourably, apologised to the people of Mozambique for the apartheid government's destabilisation of that country. Has she the political courage to apologise now to the people of SA for Parliament's disgraceful and tawdry behaviour over the arms deal, and her part in the shenanigans?

Has the ANC learned anything with the arms deal? Or must SA repeat the arms deal saga over toll roads, smart-card technology, Coega, Cell C, oil deals, drugs and weapons trafficking, diamonds and money laundering the common denominator of which is financial kickbacks to the party elite?

With acknowledgements to Terry Crawford-Browne and the Business Day.