Hawks gun for Jonas, Zweli, Gwede
As Zuma digs in, police unit opens line of attack on Gupta whistleblower
THE political fallout over the public protector’s State of Capture report has taken a new turn with the Hawks revealing that they are now pursuing Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas, ANC secretarygeneral Gwede Mantashe and party treasurer Zweli Mkhize.
The three are being probed for failing to report Jonas’s sensational claim that one of the Gupta brothers, Ajay, offered him a R600-million bribe and the finance minister post.
Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi yesterday confirmed the investigation and said they were waiting for the National Prosecuting Authority to advise on how to proceed with the matter.
The move is seen as part of a fightback strategy by President Jacob Zuma’s supporters, who are resisting growing calls for him to step down following the release of the damning report.
That Zuma is not willing to go down without a fight was clear yesterday when he told supporters at an ANC rally in Dumbe, northern KwaZulu-Natal, that he was “not scared of jail”.
He said: “Even if I was to be arrested today I spent 10 years in prison. You can’t threaten me with prison. I am not scared of prison. I’ve been there.”
Although he directed his words at opposition parties and NGOs, Zuma’s statement can also be seen as a warning shot to his opponents within the ANC ahead of today’s ANC national working committee meeting where the public protector’s report is expected to top the agenda.
The Sunday Times has learnt that early this week, officials at Luthuli House informed Zuma of growing discontent with his leadership. He is said to have told party officials during a meeting on Monday that he would not resign.
Soon after the courts ordered the public protector’s office to make public Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report, a high-ranking security cluster official told the Sunday Times of the plan to go after Jonas, Mkhize and Mantashe.
In her report, Madonsela found that Zuma infringed the Executive Ethics Code by not investigating Jonas’s allegations that he was of“I’m fered a bribe by the Guptas late last year.
The security cluster source defended Zuma, saying it was Jonas and those he told about the incident at the time that should be charged.
In his interview with Madonsela, Jonas said he reported the alleged Gupta bribe offer to Mkhize and Mantashe.
Mulaudzi said the Hawks were investigating those who did not report the alleged bribe. “A bribe is a bribe. If you don’t report it you are also against the law,” he said.
Mkhize questioned the motive for the investigation when contacted for comment this week.
Once state institutions are being used for political space they are walking into a very complicated space
not aware of any pending investigation by the Hawks, but it would be interesting to see the charge that would be concocted against me on information I’ve always regarded as hearsay.
“I was never part of the incident referred to by Jonas, so any interest in involving me would be suspicious and a red herring.”
Mantashe said investigations such as this amounted to “politicking”. “Once state institutions are being used for political space they are walking into a very complicated space,” he said.
Mantashe said he made public statements on the state capture matter and asked whether state institutions were sleeping on the job.
Mulaudzi said the Jonas case was similar to the one involving South African Revenue Service deputy commissioner Jonas Makwakwa, whose boss, SARS commissioner Tom Moyane, was now in trouble for not reporting the suspicious transactions in Makwakwa’s account.
Jonas, Mkhize and Mantashe are being investigated for allegedly contravening the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. Under the act, a person who has been offered a bribe has to report the matter to the police.
However, Corruption Watch’s David Lewis said law enforcement agencies had not been enforcing section 24 of the act and should not be selective.
“They should appreciate the floodgates they are opening. They should not be caught in selective prosecution again,” he said.
Lewis said that if they had a case against Jonas, they should charge Moyane and even Zuma for knowing about the bribe offer by the Gupta family to Vytjie Mentor and not reporting it.
When the Sunday Times asked the security cluster source who he referred to as Jonas’s accomplices, he mentioned Mkhize and Mantashe.
“If I am aware that someone offered someone a bribe I have the responsibility to report it . . . You must ask why they didn’t,” the source said.
Mulaudzi would not say if the Hawks had made contact with Jonas.
Mkhize told the Sunday Times he was looking forward to seeing whether the alleged bribery would be investigated.
“Whilst I may not understand the
rationality of or the basis on which Jonas would be charged, it would also be interesting to know if the allegation of bribery is itself being investigated.
“Whoever is contemplating either the investigation or the charge will find me ready to co-operate.
“Secondly, I confirm that in January 2016 — long after the appointment of Minister [Des] van Rooyen and subsequent move from the Ministry of Finance and reappointment of Minister Gordhan — Mcebisi Jonas shared with me that an offer for him to be minister of finance had been made by the Guptas in 2015.
“I asked him what he intended to do with this issue. He indicated that he had adequately dealt with the matter and did not contemplate taking it any further.
“Considering the recent inexplicable approaches adopted by institutions in the criminal justice system, one can only hope that no irrational actions will follow the rumours from your sources,” he said.
The Hawks’ pursuit of Mkhize and Mantashe comes at a time when the two are seen as among senior ANC leaders who have fallen out with Zuma. They both backed Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan when the Hawks charged him with fraud.
The leadership fight has seen the ANC split into two camps — one backing Zuma and the other wanting him out.
Zuma’s supporters in North West yesterday vowed to defend Zuma against those who want him ousted.
They blamed renewed calls for the president to resign on “imperialists” who “want regime change”.
The North West ANC provincial executive committee said it would advise the president to take the public protector’s report on judicial review.
“A lot of the allegations are baseless, vexatious and frivolous,” said provincial secretary Dakota Legoete.
He said they also did not agree with Madonsela’s recommendation that Zuma should institute a judicial commission of inquiry into state capture headed by a judge appointed by the chief justice, as this undermined the president’s constitutional responsibilities.
“What she is saying is that the president is incapable of being independent. To us that is a predetermined view and can’t be accepted,” Legoete said.
A senior ANC leader told the Sunday Times that this was the most devastating scandal Zuma had faced and was serious enough to warrant action.
SACP second deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila said if the ANC NEC chose Zuma over the country they will be severely punished.
“The president has a choice . . . save the movement or go with the movement,” he said. — Additional Reporting by Thabo Mokone and Bongani Mthethwa