Publication	The Star
Date	2007-03-22
Reporter	Linda Daniels
Web Link	www.thestar.co.za

Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille has laid criminal charges against 29 South Africans whom she says benefited from massively discounted luxury vehicles as a bribe in the controversial arms deal.

The vehicles appear to be part of a fleet of 33 luxury cars purchased from DaimlerChrysler by its sister company, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, which was part of a consortium awarded a tender to provide South Africa with arms.

De Lille laid fraud and corruption charges against the individuals at the Caledon Square police station in Cape Town yesterday.

The ID leader is pursuing a private prosecution because the "NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) failed to act" against the list of 29 individuals *4, made up of politicians and businessmen.

De Lille said that only one name on the list, former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni, was pursued by the authorities and convicted. Last year, Yengeni was sentenced to four years in prison for failing to declare a 47% discount on a luxury 4x4.

The ID leader said now that she has instituted fraud and corruption charges against the people on the list, the police will investigate and the docket will be forwarded to the NPA, who will decide whether to prosecute.

She claimed the NPA had not responded to her request for a probe into the people who had received discounts on luxury vehicles in the arms deal, only giving an acknowledgment of receipt of her letter.

However, spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said the NPA had "fully responded" to De Lille's request in a letter sent to her last week. He said it was up to her if she wanted to divulge details of the private correspondence.

Lesufi said the letter was sent after a meeting between Auditor-General Terence Nombembe, Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana and NPA chief Vusi Pikoli last week. The trio met last Thursday to look at all the recent allegations related to the arms deal.

However, they decided the allegations would not lead to another joint investigation of their respective bodies. Instead, they decided that "each institution would deal with issues that have been raised based on their own mandates *1".

Lesufi said the NPA would decide whether to prosecute the names on the list De Lille provided, only once the docket has been received.

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*1       Clear indication of a lack of willingness on the part of the mandated public authority to prosecute without fear or favour.

But at the time Tony Yengeni made it easy because he tried to cover his tracks and then got caught up in fraud and defeating the ends of justice nonsense, with which he was charged and then plea bargained.

He never got charged with corruption.

A very clever ploy by Thabo and his fellow thinkers among us.

But now, Ms de Lille might force the NPA to go all the way on corruption.

Names like Ron Haywood, Llew Swan *3, Sipiwe Nyanda and Ralf Beukes might be shivering in their silk slippers at the thought of spending a few weeks in the infirmary of Malmesburg Prison.

Could Yengeni be charged again, this time for corruption. After all, he did get three cars (one for me, one for wifey and one for girly *2) and not just the Merc ML320 which he purposefully damaged, inter alia, in trying to cover his tracks.

If Yengeni's plea bargain precludes him from being charged again, then he will surely have a laugh at those poor beggars whose time to sweat has now finally arrived, if the SAPA and NPA do their duties properly.


*2      The standard refrain for the BEE bumiputerians is :

one for me, one for the Ayancee

one for me, one for the Ayancee

one for me, one for the Ayancee

one for me, one for the Ayancee

one for me, one for the Ayancee

one for me, one for the Ayancee

one for me, one for the Ayancee

..............

*3      Llew Swan is now languishing in Oz, along with his one time friend and mentor, Tony Ellingford.

By the time the NPA have got their extradition ducks in a row after the likes of John The Cockroah Stratton and Chippy Shaik, this one should be a cinch, unless Llew gets wise and claims 8 weeks in the infirmary of Malmesburg Prison without big screen TV is a cruel and unnatural punishment.


*4      What about Micky Woerfel, the giver of the cars?

And EADS, the provider of the cars.

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