‘Red flags’ over Zuma arms deal role

There was no direct evidence which indicated there was direct influence at the level of the interministerial committee, Du Plooy said

PRETORIA: A top cop involved in investigating the controversial R70 billion arms deal of 1999 said yesterday ANC and government officials, including President Jacob Zuma, most likely received bribes to influence the awarding of multimillion-rand arms contracts.

Colonel Johan du Plooy, the ex-Scorpion whose investigations led to the conviction of Zuma’s former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, for corruption, yesterday directly linked the president to arms deal corruption based on his investigation into Shaik and documentation discovered during other arms deal-related probes.

Du Plooy appeared before the arms deal commission, where he insisted, despite rigorous cross-examination by evidence leader Simmy Lebala SC, and often hostile questioning by commission chairman Willie Seriti, that there was a possibility that the president had influenced some ministers in the interministerial committee chaired by former president Thabo Mbeki.

He said the financial benefits Zuma got from Shaik and those allegedly received by other ministers were enough to raise red flags about his role and those of other bigwigs like late former cabinet ministers Joe Modise and Stella Sigcau during the arms deal process.

Du Plooy admitted there was no direct evidence which indicated there was direct influence at the level of the interministerial committee, but said close relationships such as that of Shaik’s brother Chippy and consultant Fana Hlongwane and ministers made it possible to influence decisions at the highest level.

Chippy was the SANDF chief of acquisitions at the time of the arms deal, while Hlongwane was Modise’s special adviser and is alleged to have received more than R150 million in “commissions” from BAE Systems.

When pushed on whether it was possible that Zuma influenced the interministerial committee, even though he was not part of the committee, Du Plooy maintained that “it is not impossible” that Zuma might have used his position in the ANC to influence decision-making.

“There is no direct evidence showing that the honourable president influenced the awarding of the contracts.

“However, what we have is that President Jacob Zuma financially benefited by helping Schabir Shaik become a BEE partner to a company that was later awarded the contract.

“After a meeting with the company, the shareholding of the company changed to include Shaik and Zuma got money from Shaik. Because of his position in the ANC at the time, it is not impossible that he could have influenced those who were on the committee,” said Du Plooy.

He said the court had accepted during the Shaik trial

the that Zuma benefited financially from the arms deal through payments from Shaik in exchange for his influence during the arms procurement process.

He also alluded to documentation which alleged that BAE Systems, one of the arms deal successful bidders, had financially supported Sigcau’s daughter during her stay in London as one of the red flags that created suspicions around South African politicians’ role in the process.

“While you don’t have evidence that she influenced the process, you cannot ignore these red flags about her financially benefiting from the process,” said Du Plooy.

Du Plooy’s testimony continues today.