Subpoenas for five to face inquiry

Parliamentary committee bid follows snub by Myeni, Duduzane and Guptas

PARLIAMENT’S public enterprises committee has decided to subpoena former SAA chairwoman Dudu Myeni‚ Duduzane Zuma and the three Gupta brothers‚ Ajay‚ Atul and Rajesh‚ to appear before its inquiry into state capture.

The decision to issue the subpoenas was made unanimously by all political parties yesterday and follows the failure of these individuals to appear before the committee voluntarily on the basis of invitations.

Failure to comply with a subpoena is an offence.

Myeni has so far failed to submit a medical certificate to support her claim that she cannot appear before the committee because she is “not in fit and full capacity”.

She submitted a written submission which she thought would be sufficient but this was rejected by the committee, which wants to interrogate her about allegations that she played a role in the suspension of three Eskom executives in March 2015‚ including former chief executive Tshediso Matona.

This intervention‚ according to the testimony of former Eskom chairman Zola Tsotsi‚ took place at the Durban residence of former president Jacob Zuma, who is Duduzane Zuma’s father.

In a letter to the chairwoman of the inquiry‚ Zukiswa Rantho‚ Myeni accused the committee of a lack of sympathy and support and an insensitivity to her rights as a citizen “in terms of being afforded an opportunity to recover in dignity”.

It seemed, she said, that she was being stripped of her rights.

Myeni said it appeared as if she was being treated as a criminal with no respect being given to her rights as a sick person.

She said she would advise the committee of her readiness to appear before it.

This would depend on her recovery and medical confirmation of her “fitness and capacity to perform [a] public appearance”.

“Should I be compelled to appear regardless of this letter, I reserve my right at law to seek an appropriate legal remedy,” Myeni said.

ANC MP Moses Tseli described Myeni’s letter as a declaration of war.

In a letter to the committee on behalf of the Guptas‚ BDK Attorneys said the fact that the committee expected them to trawl through the evidence presented to the inquiry to discern the issues to which they should respond “speaks volumes for the vague‚ disordered‚ uncontrolled and untrammelled nature of the inquiry”.

The letter described the inquiry as “an exercise in political show-boating” by MPs.

It said witnesses were subjected to unfair questioning and the conduct of proceedings was “manifestly unfair and improper”.

The warrants of arrest against the Guptas would complicate their testimony before the committee.

In any event‚ the letter said‚ the three Gupta brothers were not in South Africa, “being absent for business reasons”, and they therefore declined the invitation to appear before the committee.

With regard to the invitation to Duduzane Zuma to appear‚ attorney Gary Mazaham said in a letter that he had not received transcripts of evidence presented to the inquiry related to his client.

He was therefore unable to learn the scope of the questions that would be put to him and unable to prepare himself and would therefore not be able to appear before the committee. – BusinessLIVE