President wary of being seen to take sides in internal party rumblings

The political heat on national prosecutions chief Bulelani Ngcuka looks set to rise as several corruption probes by his Scorpions unit make headway into the shady dealings of influential ANC figures and security officers.

There is uproar over the validity of public protector Lawrence Mushwana's finding that Ngcuka impugned the dignity of deputy president Jacob Zuma. It has reignited a political firestorm that had abated in January after the Hefer commission cleared Ngcuka of claims from a powerful faction within the ANC that he might have been an apartheid-era spy and was misusing his authority to undermine the party.

On a superficial level, Mushwana's criticism of Ngcuka and former justice minister Penuell Maduna and their scathing responses revolve around a constitutional issue: the extent to which the country's top prosecutor can wield his powers against the rights of an accused to trial without prejudice.

On a deeper level the dispute is the latest eruption in a seething power struggle within the ANC harking back to the anti-apartheid days. It is a complex and shifting amalgam of contrary alliances and patronage. Its fault line runs roughly between elements that might be described as new-age progressives on one hand and atavistic opportunists on the other.

The war's most vivid expression was the spy claims against Ngcuka by Mac Maharaj and Mo Shaik, struggle-era ANC intelligence operatives and longtime allies of Zuma, former commander of the movement's intelligence arm.

It was sparked by the Scorpions accusing Zuma of soliciting, and receiving, substantial "loans" from numerous donors over the years. This includes R500 000/year from French defence group Thomson-CSF, associated with his longtime financial adviser, undercover comrade and arms deal sub contractor Schabir Shaik, in return for patronage of state contracts.

Ngcuka announced last August that he would proceed with corruption and fraud charges against Shaik but not Zuma because, though he had a prima facie case against the deputy president, he felt it wasn't "winnable". The statement set off a wave of bitter recriminations and underhand politicking that led to the Hefer commission and at least three complaints to the public protector that Ngcuka was misusing his power. Mushwana's report last Friday dealt with just Zuma's complaint.

He is still considering a complaint by mining magnate Brett Kebble who claims he, his father Roger and JCI financial director Hennie Buitendach, are being maliciously prosecuted for alleged share price manipulation. The Kebbles' empowerment ties to leaders of the ANC Youth League's business operations add weight to the political forces ranged against Ngcuka.

The third complaint is from discredited former City Press editor Vusi Mona who published the Ngcuka-spy allegations and belatedly objected to defamatory remarks he says Ngcuka made about Maharaj during an off-record briefing for black journalists.

Meanwhile, the Scorpions are believed to be intensifying an investigation into Maharaj and his wife Zarina. Reports have alleged that while Maharaj was transport minister the couple accepted money and gifts worth more than R500 000 from Schabir Shaik. However, the FM understands that the money trail is far more extensive than that.

The key case - because of its scope and the fact that a trial date has been set for October - is the corruption trial of Schabir Shaik. Aside from the arms-related interests, he also faces questions about his dealings in other state contracts, such as a R265m deal to supply credit-card driver's licences, plans to build a new international airport in Durban and a contract for new national identity cards. Zuma, too, is expected to be subpoenaed to say what he may know about these deals. Maharaj may also have to testify.

Ngcuka could attract more political heat from a separate Scorpions probe into whether former Limpopo premier, and now President Thabo Mbeki's parliamentary go-between, Ngoako Ramatlhodi and his finance MEC Thaba Mufamadi took kickbacks from Cash Paymaster Services Northern (CPS), the holder of a R250m contract to administer the province's pension payments. Noseweek reported last October that for several years through the late-1990s, CPS was a partnership between national technology company Aplitec and Limpopo-based Northern Corporate Investment Holdings (Nicoh). Nicoh funded the provincial ANC through a charitable trust set up to help developing businesses. It is alleged also to have been the conduit for the kickbacks. The FM understands that the Scorpions have made a recent breakthrough in the case.

Last month the Mail & Guardian reported that Ramatlhodi was a front-runner to replace Ngcuka, who was said to be negotiating a severance package. But Ngcuka has since told friends and associates that he will not leave voluntarily while key investigations remain unresolved. It is also hard to see how Ramatlhodi could step into Ngcuka's shoes while under investigation. His exclusion from Mbeki's new cabinet surprised many observers, and may indicate that his star has waned.

The recent suspension, meanwhile, of a senior Scorpions investigator, Cornwell Tshavhungwa, under investigation for alleged bribery and extortion, adds fuel to the fire.

The Mail & Guardian reported last month that Tshavhungwa had lodged a complaint with the public protector that the Scorpions were misusing their power in the investigation against him.

The investigation centres on claims that Tshavhungwa took bribes from officials he was supposedly investigating for corruption in the parastatal Mpumalanga Economic Empowerment Corporation (MEEC). The Scorpions suspect that he induced MEEC to award a tender to a close corporation, Ramcorp Business Concepts, in which he and family members have interests. The newspaper quotes Tshavhungwa as saying that the Scorpions had been unable to make a case against him and were now unlawfully investigating his family.

There does not appear to be any connection between the Ramatlhodi and Tshavhungwa investigations, though the two men are believed to be close and in regular contact.

Ngcuka faces further pressure from the police, who are pursuing criminal charges against him and the prosecuting authority for wrongful arrest and allegedly defeating the ends of justice. The charges have been brought by Pietermaritzburg magistrate Ashin Singh, who was part of an early Scorpions unit investigating a massacre in KwaZulu Natal in 1999. He says Ngcuka had him fired and later prosecuted for openly protesting the unit's arrest of four soldiers for the crime - an act vindicated when ballistic evidence led to the soldiers' release and the subsequent conviction and sentencing of five other men Singh had fingered for the crime. It led to the charges being dropped against Singh and his reinstatement as magistrate. There is no love lost between Ngcuka and national police commissioner Jackie Selebi, so the latter is unlikely to let the matter rest.

Will Ngcuka survive the incessant onslaught? The answer may lie with Mbeki, who has so far supported his hand-picked national prosecutor. But the president is playing his cards close to his chest, seemingly wary of being seen to take sides in the internal party rumblings.

Meanwhile, the stresses have taken their toll on the Scorpions and the prosecuting authority as a whole. Since the spy allegations arose last August, resignations have risen significantly among the ranks of prosecutors and investigators.

Corruption, politics and power make a poisonous brew.

With acknowledgement to Peter Honey and Financial Mail.