Fraser away scot-free

‘He is no longer subject to the discipline of the public service.’ CONUNDRUM: HARD TO PRODUCE EVIDENCE HE DELIBERATELY BROKE LAW

While the spotlight is on Jacob Zuma returning to prison after his release on parole was declared illegal, Arthur Fraser, who made it all possible, has quietly got away with his unlawful conduct.

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has thrown out Zuma’s appeal to set aside the ruling by the High Court in Pretoria that his medical parole was illegal and ordered him back to prison.

The SCA confirmed in an unanimous judgment on Monday that the decision to grant Zuma medical parole was unlawful and invalid, upholding the earlier high court decision.

Zuma had served just two months of his 15-month sentence when Fraser, then commissioner of correctional services, released him on medical parole, against the medical parole advisory board’s recommendation.

In July last year, Zuma handed himself over to the Estcourt Correctional Centre in KwaZuluNatal.

This after the Constitutional Court found him guilty and sentenced him for contempt of court after he refused to testify at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

The incarceration of the former president triggered public unrest that swept across KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng, resulting in the death 354 people, an estimated R50 billion in damage and 150 000 jobs lost.

There are fears that his return to prison could spark similar unrest, or worse.

Public interest group Accountability Now has lamented that Fraser, the man responsible for Zuma’s unlawful freedom, will most likely not be held accountable for his illegal actions.

Fraser was no longer employed by the state and, therefore, could not be held accountable, advocate Paul Hoffman, director of Accountability Now, said.

“There will be no comeback because he is no longer subject to the discipline of the public service. He is just a pensioner now. I do not think [Fraser] will ever be held accountable for what he has done,” he said.

Fraser could still be pursued for legal costs racked up because of his illegal decision, but for this to happen it must be proven that he was motivated by malice in releasing Zuma, Hoffman said.

“Legal costs were incurred because of his mistake but you will have to produce some evidence of some sort that he deliberately acted unlawfully and that is going to be very hard for anyone to produce,” he said.

Hoffman agreed that Fraser going scot-free could motivate other civil servants to act illegally, but said this will not happen again if President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered on the promise he made based on the recommendations of the state capture inquiry.

“This will be addressed by what [Ramaphosa] promised to do … to professionalise the public sector, to appoint people on merit and for their honesty,” he said.

The commission recommended that Fraser be investigated for mishandling and distributing large amounts of money from the State Security Agency (SSA) during his tenure at the helm of the spy agency.

Fraser, the commission heard, established running a separate and discrete parallel intelligence structure within the SSA to advance Zuma’s political interests.

The department of correctional services have since lodged an appeal against the SCA judgment and order to return Zuma back to prison at the highest court in the land.

AfriForum campaign officer for strategy and content Reiner Duvenage said their legal team was weighing its options on their move on Fraser.

Fraser will never be held accountable