Lekota denies releasing names

A row has broken out about the release of 30 names linked to the controversial arms deal, with Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota denying that he had confirmed the list of names.

The Freedom Front Plus had earlier published the list of names after saying that Lekota had confirmed the names in an answer to a parliamentary question.

The FF Plus's Pieter Groenewald claimed that the list had been confirmed by Lekota.

But Lekota's spokesman, Sam Mkhwanazi, said the minister had not confirmed such a list and was "disturbed" by reports that he had.

Last night, Lekota was trying to contact Groenewald by telephone to get to the bottom of the matter.

This morning Groenewald stood by his statement, saying that the Defence Minister had given a "confirmation" of the names.

"I did pose a question in Parliament and he did reply. I asked what are the names of the people who received special discounts," Groenewald told the Cape Argus.

Groenewald said that in his reply, Lekota had said that he did not know of any other names "other than those published in the media".

The revealing of the list prompted Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille to lay criminal charges against 29 businessmen and politicians who she says received discounted luxury vehicles as bribes along with convicted fraudster Tony Yengeni during the controversial arms deal.

She handed in a statement at Cape Town's Caledon Square Police Station yesterday detailing the names and discounts people received while buying cars from a German company, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), which got a big slice of the South African arms deal.

Yengeni, who is listed as the 30th official to allegedly have received a massive discount on a car, has already been prosecuted.

De Lille said she had laid the charges in the interests of justice, so that the remaining MPs, politicians and public servants listed "could face the music".

German authorities are in-vestigating whether their arms manufacturers paid bribes to influential South Africans in order to secure lucrative arms contracts.

DA spokesman on Public Accounts Eddie Trent said while he did not have a problem with De Lille laying the charges, the NPA needed to investigate the allegations.

"We need to co-operate with the UK, Sweden and Germany.

"The only person that has been prosecuted was Yengeni. What about the others?

"I have no problem. It all serves the same purpose.

"Hopefully she has the evidence to back it up.

"But it does not in any way minimise the fact that a judicial enquiry needs to be set up," Trent said.

Yengeni said he preferred not to comment.

With acknowledgement to Linda Daniels, Sivuyile Mangxamba, Candice Bailey, Fouzia van der Fort and Cape Argus.