A day after the ANC asked President Thabo Mbeki to come clean on the arms
deal, the Democratic Alliance claims it has information suggesting that Mbeki
refused to assist the Scorpions in investigating the multibillion-rand deal.
The DA's spokesperson on the arms deal, Eddie Trent, was due to put questions to
Mbeki in parliament today, asking him whether he had failed to assist the elite
unit.
"It has been brought to my attention by reliable sources that during the past
years (Mbeki) has been approached on numerous occasions to give assistance to
the Scorpions into allegations around the arms deal. The information I have is
that he has refused to do so," said Trent.
What made his questions even more urgent, said Trent, was the fact that the
ANC's national executive committee (NEC) had suggested that Mbeki should reveal
he knew about the arms deal.
'It has been brought to my attention by reliable sources...'
The DA's questions follow reports that mining baron and ANC NEC member Tokyo
Sexwale, during the four-day NEC meeting which was to end on Monday, had called
on Mbeki to explain his involvement in the arms deal.
Apparently Sexwale requested Mbeki to take "the ANC into his confidence" on
whether there was any substance to a German investigation that allegedly
implicated the president in corruption regarding the arms deal.
Sexwale is said to have been supported by the majority of NEC members, who
indicated that the ruling party needed to know the "full
truth" to prevent it from being embarrassed *1 by any revelations
relating to the deal.
The ANC has appointed an ad hoc committee to probe the arms deal and advise it
on how to approach the fraud and corruption charges against Jacob Zuma.
The ANC president faces corruption charges related to the arms deal. He has
indicated that he will call Mbeki and several cabinet ministers as witnesses if
his trial continues.
* This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on March 17,
2008
With acknowledgements to Sibusiso Ngalwa and
Independent Online.
*1Why should the ruling party to
entitled know the "full truth to prevent it from being embarrassed" when the
whole country has been trying to find out since 1999.
The full and disclosed truth is in the public interest.
The partial and hidden truth that the ANC wants is clearly to allow it to do
damage control.
This is not in the public interest.
At the same time what is in the public interest is to re-open the Arms Deal
investigation, rewrite the investigation report from the source details (most of
which are contained in the draft reports) and to charge Shauket Fakie, Selby
Baqwa and Bulelani Ngcuka with perjury and defeating the ends of justice.
If they had done their jobs according to their job descriptions (the public
ones, not Thabo Mbeki's job descriptions) the entire country would not be in
this pickle now.
Jacob Zuma would be in jail and so might, inter alia, Thabo Mbeki, Chippy Shaik,
Ian Pierce and Fana Hlongwane.
A long list of other South Africans might be squirming a lot more than they are
now, including :
Rear Admiral (Junior Grade) Jonathan Edwin Gold Kamerman; and
Vice Admiral Robert Claude Simpson-Anderson.
Joe Modise would have escaped jail but his wife would not have inherited his
shares in Aerosud, the most successful of all the South African countries in
terms of Defence Industrial Participation (DIP).
Richard Charter might not have drowned in a canoeing accident (or was this not
an accident *2) on the Orange River because he was at that time being ably cared
for in the sanatorium of Westville Prison.
*2I have heard that under Project Coast, drugs were
developed that could cause heart attack under conditions of physiological stress
several weeks after induction.
Beware the rather posh looking gentleman with the folded newspaper and umbrella.