ATTORNEY’S SILENCE ON ARMS DEAL STAGGERING

THE claim by attorney Ajay Sooklal that he was instructed by President Jacob Zuma to conceal financial kickbacks from the Seriti Commission, which was probing the 1999 arms deal, raises the saga to a new dimension. Why did he remain silent for 19 years when he was privy to information that violated cardinal and pivotal aspects of international diplomacy? What other crucial information was concealed from Judge Willie Seriti? Was the judge aware of it? The British Serious Fraud Office positively identified £115 million (R2bn) in commission payments made by British Aerospace systems (BAE) to “overt” and “covert” advisers related to the arms deal.

Arms are rarely purchased in a vacuum. The revolving door between various institutions and companies allow decision making to be manipulated at the highest levels – away from public view.

The denizens of the murky arms world rely on elusive middlemen, bogus documents and shell companies to cover their tracks and evade responsibility.

The South African arms deal of 1999 was born amid a storm of controversy.

Post-apartheid South Africa was not facing enemies that would justify this sort of hardware. There had been enough pecu- liarities in the arms deal to raise suspicion. Why were deep-water ships needed for coastal defence?

Why would a country facing minimal aerial threat need state-of-the-art BAE/ SAAB Gripens?

The SA Air Force had at the time taken delivery of two squadrons of Impalas and did not have enough pilots to fly them. The list is endless.

History will one day unearth the hidden truth of the arms deal.

Next to prostitution, the global arms business is perhaps the world’s oldest and ingrained profession.

Farouk Araie