Hawks under fire over Guptas
THE Directorate of Priority Crimes (DPCI) came under fire for not arresting Ajay Gupta and his associates while a decision to prosecute was awaited from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
This happened as the elite unit fended off accusations that it made the arrests only because of political pressure.
Briefing the police portfolio committee, acting head of DPCI Yolisa Matakata said there was no basis for such claim as speculated in the media.
The arrests of Gupta associates and Free State civil servants were made weeks after President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected leader of the ANC.
Ramaphosa replaced former president Jacob Zuma, a Gupta family friend, in a move that sparked speculation that law enforcement agencies would spring into action in February because there was a new sheriff in town.
Matakata told MPs she had informed the committee last November that their investigations into Estina farm, which was allegedly used by Gupta-linked companies to defraud the Free State provincial government of R220 million, was finalised.
“We had to wait for the NPA to make a decision… Probably, it (the arrest) was a coincidence, but it was not at all our own doing as the DPCI,” she said.
ANC MP Leonard Ramatlakane said the NPA’s delay in making a decision to prosecute was a concern. He was surprised that despite the DPCI’s prosecutorial-driven investigations, it took four months to decide.
Matakata confirmed that the NPA assigned prosecutors to guide their investigations.
“I can’t say why the NPA took that long,” she said, before revealing that it was normal for dockets to sit with the NPA for up to a year or two.
But, Ramatlakane would hear none of it and asked what law stated the DPCI could not arrest suspects until the NPA gave the go-ahead.
“The only body that has power to arrest is you (DPCI) or the police to say the least. Why walk around with hands on the back?”
Committee chairman Francois Beukman said white-collar crime suspects were treated differently.
“All suspects should be treated the same way. Are we now creating another hierarchy when it comes to white-collar crime?”
Matakata insisted the DPCI did not treat suspects differently and the arrests were coincidentally made “when there was a new president”. “I can’t say why, maybe they (NPA) were still applying their mind.”
She also explained investigations into state capture were complex, hence the guidance from prosecutors. “You can’t just go and arrest people and let them appear in court,” she said.
Asked by the ANC’s Livhuhani Mabija if the NPA’s delays to make a decision hindered their performance, Matakata said they were hindered because criminal matters were not taken to court.
“They are not hindering the investigations because they are done. They hinder the court processes and even justice,” she said.
This prompted the DA’s Dianne Kohler Barnard to ask if the DPCI was investigating the NPA on allegations of state capture.
“Is it deliberate what they are doing? Is there no investigation whether the NPA are captured?” Kohler-Barnard asked.
Ramatlakane said the delays by the NPA “remain suspect” and the agency should be held accountable. “They can’t be untouchable.”
Matakata said she had no substance to say the NPA was captured. “I have raised our concerns with our principal (former minister Fikile Mbalula) and the national director of public prosecutions (Shaun Abrahams).”
She also told MPs they were working with Interpol to ensure Ajay Gupta was brought to the country and appeared in court.
Matakata dismissed reports that the DPCI had negotiated with a lawyer for Atul Gupta, who has a warrant of arrest out.
“We refused to give the information they wanted and serve the warrant of arrest on the lawyer.
“We have stressed that he is a fugitive. Obviously, he is not in the country, but we are not to be held to ransom. He must bring his client.”
Matakata also said they only heard in the media that Duduzane Zuma was to be arrested in connection with the Estina farm.
“We never made that pronouncement. We did not have a warrant of arrest for Duduzane Zuma.”