‘There are no charges, only allegations’

Although Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan refused to submit to the Hawks’ questioning, his former colleagues, Ivan Pillay and Johann van Loggerenberg, spent just over four hours inside the Hawks head office.

When they emerged they were tight-lipped.

“I don’t know,” said Van Loggerenberg, when asked why the meeting had taken so long.

“My clients will be following due process in accordance with their rights,” their lawyer, Robert Levin, said. “There are no charges, only allegations.”

Pillay and Van Loggerenberg seemed unflustered, even when descended on by the large media contingent. Also present were supporters from civil society bodies such as Right2Know, which displayed a “no secrets, no lies, no spies” banner grimy from use.

The two men, former judge Johann Kriegler said earlier, were “entitled, as human beings, to moral support” after having been “destroyed”.

Asked whether President Jacob Zuma had any role to play in the matter, Kriegler barked out a laugh. “Are you being serious? That is my only answer.”

His organisation, Freedom Under Law, and the Helen Suzman Foundation intend to show their support for the officials by way of the courts, Kriegler said.

Gordhan on Wednesday dismissed corruption claims and explained the circumstances around which he had authorised the early retirement and rehiring of Pillay on contract.

He said it was done after a request from then Sars boss Oupa Magashula, who confirmed that the Hawks had also asked him to make a warning statement. —