Moyane loses bid to grill Gordhan

Deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo has denied former SA Revenue Service boss Tom Moyane leave to cross-examine public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan at the inquiry into state capture.

Zondo, who chairs the inquiry, said on Tuesday that the test for cross-examination is whether it is necessary and relevant to the commission’s work. In delivering his judgment, Zondo spent most of the morning highlighting the commission’s rules.

“The first requirement [for cross-examination] ... is that the statement or evidence of the witness whom he or she wishes to cross-examine implicates him or her,” Zondo said.

Moyane “has not shown that he is implicated in [Gordhan’s] statement or evidence”.

He said Moyane did not clearly identify which parts of Gordhan’s statement he disputed or denied.

“Neither in his founding affidavit or in his supplementary affidavit did [Moyane] deal with the issue on why granting him leave to appeal is necessary and in the best interests of the work of the commission,” Zondo added.

In March, Moyane’s lawyer, Dali Mpofu, in arguing for leave to cross-examine Gordhan, alleged that the minister was racist towards Moyane and referred to a phone call in which Gordhan allegedly told Moyane to “grow up”. Mpofu argued that this amounts to racism, because it implies that Moyane is a “boy”.

He claimed Gordhan’s affidavit was “more significant for what it omits than what it says”.