Anger mounts over Pravin
Embattled former SARS officials meet Hawks
FORMER South African Revenue Service (SARS) official Johann van Loggerenberg walked out of a lengthy meeting with the Hawks yesterday confident he was innocent.
While he referred all media questions about the meeting to his lawyer, he only responded when asked if his conscience was clear. “Yes absolutely, my conscience is clear.”
Together with former colleague Ivan Pillay, he presented himself to the Hawks’ headquarters in Tshwane.
Their lawyer, Robert Levin, would not comment further about what transpired in the meeting, except to dismiss the Hawks’ allegations. The police’s investigations unit took statements from the two. The statements would form part of a docket the Hawks would now hand over to the National Prosecuting Authority for a decision whether to prosecute or not.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan refused to present himself to submit a similar statement. He was attending the funeral of former Eastern Cape premier the Reverend Makhenkesi Stofile, in Alice. He completes the trio of former SARS officials the Hawks are investigating over a so-called rogue unit.
It is believed the Hawks want to charge them, but supporters of the three maintain these would be trumped up charges designed to deepen “state capture”.
A number of supporters picketed outside the General Piet Joubert Building, the Hawks head office, while Pillay and Van Loggerenberg were inside.
George Bizos, the struggle advocate, was among the civil rights activists who turned out to voice their support.
An emotional Bizos said the matter was reminiscent of the dark days of apartheid. “We’re concerned that events of the past are being repeated now. We stand by the minister of finance. We hope that the people of South Africa will stand by him.”
Retired Constitutional Court judge Johann Kriegler went further and called the Hawks’ investigation a disgrace.
“A man like Ivan Pilay, who’s given his life to the cause, is being victimised by petty little people for motives that I believe are based in the extreme.”
Asked if he would call for mass protests, Kriegler said “obviously”. “The only way people like this would listen is when they are confronted with sufficient pushback from decent society.
“Not only are the charges baseless‚ but the manner in which they have been pursued is clearly calculated to besmirch the names of the individuals and has predictably already seriously impaired our national economy.”
“This is a massive hunt and there is nothing to hunt.”
Kriegler said‚ “recent reports suggested corrupt motives involving massive sums of money and tension between the Presidency and the Treasury”.
“We do not speculate. We know that‚ whatever the motives‚ the agency being primarily used to pursue the campaign is the Hawks‚ which is headed by a man whose appointment and fitness to hold office are currently being challenged in the courts.”
He said most disturbing was that none of those being publicly humiliated was ever given a proper opportunity to answer the charges.
“Dragging in Minister Gordhan is all the more outrageous. The timing and the manner of the steps taken against him evidence ill-will towards a loyal public servant who‚ together with the then finance minister Trevor Manuel‚ created arguably the most efficient government agency of the new SA. He does not deserve this. Neither do we‚” he said.
Speculation is rife that the Hawks would now arrest Gordhan, a move analysts are sure would cripple the country’s struggling economy.
President Jacob Zuma’s office said he also found the negative effect of the matter on the economy disturbing, But he simply “does not have powers to stop the investigation”.
Hangwani Mulaudzi, spokesman for the Hawks, said they would not comment on the matter.