Booysen blames Ed Zuma
Former Hawks boss gives evidence at inquiry
FORMER KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Johan Booysen has blamed Edward Zuma’s business interests for his legal troubles with suspended national director of public prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba.
Edward Zuma is the son of former president Jacob Zuma.
Yesterday Booysen testified at the Mokgoro Inquiry, led by retired Constitutional Court Judge Yvonne Mokgoro, which is tasked with probing the fitness of Jiba and the head of Special Commercial Crime Unit (SCCU), Advocate Lawrence Mrwebi, to hold office in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
In his testimony, Booysen told the inquiry that his legal troubles with Jiba began in August 2012 after he turned down a request made to him by Edward Zuma that he allow the police treasury to release an outstanding R15 million payment which was owed to controversial businessman Thoshan Panday. Booysen said Panday was irregularly awarded a contract of R60 million by the police to provide accommodation for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
He said he lodged an investigation after obtaining information that the tender procedures were not followed. He said at the time of his investigations, R45m had already been paid out to Panday and R15m was outstanding.
He said he approached the police management and asked them to freeze the outstanding payment while he was conducting his investigations.
The inquiry heard that during the processes, a man claiming to be Zuma’s brother made several calls to Booysen’s secretary seeking a meeting with the former Hawks boss.
“I finally agreed to the meeting. During our first meeting, it turned out that it was not Zuma’s brother but his son, Edward. At the meeting, Edward Zuma asked me to release the funds so as to allow him to receive dividends from the R15m.
“He told me he was a silent partner in Panday’s company. He also told me that he had invested R900 000 in the company. I told him, ‘Let me give you advice from a police officer – go and demand your money from Panday. I hope you are going to heed to my advice’,” Booysen said.
According to Booysen, his refusal to release the outstanding R15m to Panday and Edward allegedly led to Jiba authorising that Booysen should be charged with two counts of racketeering. In his sworn statement, Booysen made it clear that the motive behind the charges was to block his investigations into the multimillion-rand corruption case against Panday.
He also told the inquiry that before his arrest, various attempts were made to bribe him: “Various attempts were made to frustrate and stop the investigations. At one stage I was summoned to the office of the Provincial Commissioner of Police, Mmamonnye Ngobeni, in the presence of the accused (Thoshan Panday). The police commissioner asked me to stop the investigations into the matter,” Booysen said.
Booysen was adamant in his testimony that it was his failed meeting with Edward Zuma that triggered the involvement of Jiba in the matter and subsequently his arrest on August 22, 2012.
According to Booysen, Jiba made failed attempts to force the former acting deputy prosecution’s boss in KwaZulu-Natal, Advocate Simphiwe Mlotshwa, to charge him for racketeering, but Mlotshwa declined, allegedly on the grounds of lack of sufficient evidence or details of a prosecutorial memorandum.
Mlotshwa had earlier confirmed Booysen’s version when he testified before the inquiry last week. Mlotshwa told the inquiry that due to his refusal to charge Booysen, he was never appointed as director of public prosecutions.
The inquiry subsequently heard that KZN’s current head of public prosecutions, Moipone Noko, was appointed as acting director of public prosecutions in July 2012.
Yesterday, Booysen was adamant that the charges against him were politically motivated and were an attempt to block investigations into the Panday case and corruption charges against two former ANC MECs, Mike Mabuyakhulu and Peggy Nkonyeni.
Mabuyakhulu and Nkonyeni were also linked to multimillion-rand fraud and corruption charges involving Uruguayan businessman Gaston Savoi. It was alleged that the two were instrumental in awarding Savoi illegal contracts to provide water purification plants at various state and community health centres in KwaZulu-Natal.
The hearings continue.