‘I’M NOT SCARED OF JAIL’
Zwane drums up support for Bongo outside court
Former president Jacob Zuma addresses supporters at OR Tambo International Airport yesterday on his return from Cuba, where he was treated for an undisclosed medical condition. Zuma told the crowd that he was not afraid of prison. The statement follows the recent warrant of arrest issued against him.
● Former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane has fired a salvo at justice minister Ronald Lamola, claiming that corruption-accused MP Bongani Bongo would not get a fair trial while Lamola runs the justice department.
Zwane, chair of parliament’s transport committee, told journalists outside the Cape Town magistrate’s court on Friday that Lamola demonstrated prejudice when he described ANC members pushing for radical economic transformation (RET) as thugs who should be arrested. “One of the senior leaders, who is responsible for justice in this country raised the matter and said people are hiding behind the term RET,” he said.
Lamola made the remarks last week at an ANC workshop on land expropriation. He said “thieves who have stolen money now claim to be RET”, a reference to the group in the ANC loyal to Jacob Zuma.
On Friday, Zwane said Lamola’s remarks were evidence that Bongo and other Zuma supporters were being politically persecuted.
Bongo made his third appearance in the court on corruption charges. It is alleged that in 2017 he tried to bribe Ntuthuzelo Vanara, an advocate who led the parliamentary inquiry into Eskom at the time.
Zwane did not mention Lamola by name but said the radical group was not happy with his comments.
“Ja, I am saying so because some few days ago, unfortunately, one of us did mention that the RET forces are thugs.
“It’s unfortunate because the person who gave that statement is the person whom we must all look up to for the fair treatment of any citizen in the country.
“If their view is that anybody that believes in RET is a thug and they must be jailed, put in orange overalls, then it sends a wrong message altogether.”
Zwane said it was difficult to ignore the narrative against the radical forces such as Bongo and Zuma.
“It is Bongo today, it is Msholozi tomorrow. The other week the media was running a story that [ANC secretary-general] Ace [Magashule] is going to be arrested. “Unfortunately these words become true when the statement of ‘RET forces are thugs, they must be arrested’ is being issued,” he said.
Zwane has been accused of having cleared the way for the Gupta family to acquire the Optimum coal mine to supply coal to Eskom when he was mines minister. He said that he had previously complained to ANC leaders about members who “prejudged” others. Zwane, a former Free State agriculture MEC, said certain ANC members, including himself, were being treated far worse than FW de Klerk by their own party despite their roles in the liberation struggle.
Zwane said there was an agenda to “eliminate” them from ANC ranks.
He said Bongo remained innocent until proven guilty.
“His integrity and credibility must be respected, as De Klerk’s credibility is respected,” he said.
A handful of ANC supporters from the Free State and Mpumalanga travelled to Cape Town on Friday to show support for Bongo, who was Zuma’s security minister.
One of them, George Nkambule from Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, said he drove 1,700km from his home town just to show support for Bongo.
Zwane was adamant that the Bongo supporters had paid their own way to travel to Cape Town.
Bongo’s corruption case was postponed to April for a pretrial in the Western Cape High Court, where he is expected to make a plea.
His trial, where evidence would be led against him and witnesses testify against him, has been set down for the entire month of August.
Bongo was charged with corruption by the National Prosecuting Authority last year after the Hawks arrested him following an investigation into allegations of offering a blank cheque to Vanara.
The bribe offer was allegedly made in exchange for Vanara quashing the parliamentary inquiry into Eskom. Approached for comment, Lamola said it was worrying that some of his comrades were spreading claims that law enforcement agencies were being used in political battles. He said such insinuations should be dismissed with contempt.
“It is concerning that some amongst us, especially in the governing party, insist on propelling a narrative which insinuates that law enforcement agencies are simply political tools which can be used to castigate this or that individual.”