Angry+Mac+fights+back,+Makhudu+Sefara,+City+Press

City Press, Johannesburg, 28/10/2006 20:34 - (SA)
=Angry Mac fights back=


 * Makhudu Sefara**

Former Transport Minister and ANC veteran Mac Maharaj has taken his fight against the National Prosecuting Authority to court, claiming the laws under which he was fiercely interrogated were unconstitutional.

Maharaj and his wife Zarina have had running battles with the NPA, ­dating back to the initial stages of the ­investigations of the multibillion-rand arms deal saga when Bulelani Ngcuka was still at the helm.

Documents obtained at the Pretoria High Court show that the Maharajs were deeply upset and resentful of “the manner of the interrogation” they were subjected to by the elite investigations unit of the NPA, the Scorpions.

Maharaj was hauled before the then NPA investigating director, Geoff Ledwaba, and questioned under oath about a number of issues, including payments his wife received from Jacob Zuma’s former financial adviser Schabir Schaik and a number of his Nkobi companies.

The payments were made shortly ­before and after an announcement was made about the R2.5 billion N3 tollgate tender to a consortium, which included Shaik’s Nkobi Holdings, and the R650 million credit card-type drivers’ ­licence contract, ­which included Shaik’s subsidiary, Prodiba.

Now Maharaj and his wife want to haul the NPA top brass and Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla to court in a bid to have some sections of the NPA Act declared unconstitutional.

Those cited in the document are ­Mabandla, National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli, head of the Scorpions in Gauteng Gerhard Nel and Annemarie Louise Friedman.

Attorney Rudi Krause confirmed yesterday that his law firm was representing Maharaj.

“Yes, I confirm we instituted action on behalf of Mr Maharaj against the National Director of Public Prosecutions,” he said.

At the core of Maharaj’s battle with the Scorpions are sections 28(6), (8) and (10) of the NPA Act.

Under these sections, the investigating director, a deputy to Scorpions boss advocate Leonard McCarthy, has wide-ranging powers to:


 * Summon suspects/potential ­witnesses for questioning and they have no right to refuse;
 * Order suspects/potential witnesses to bring documents that could incriminate them and the director may retain these for use in future;
 * Suspects/potential witnesses “shall not be entitled to refuse to answer any question, even when such an answer could “expose him or her to a criminal charge”;
 * Those who give “false evidence,” or those who “fail to answer” or refuse to produce evidence “shall be guilty of an offence” which could result in jail or a fine.

NPA spokesperson Makhosini ­Nkosi confirmed yesterday that the NPA had received summonses from the Maharajs.

“We confirm that there is litigation they are instituting against us. Our ­intention is to oppose that application strenuously,” said Nkosi.

Surprisingly, Maharaj, a fierce ­critic of the NPA, does not make any claims of abuse of power as he has consistently done in the past – but ­limits his application to the constitutionality of the law.

City Press has learnt from reliable sources that Maharaj had made ­certain statements under oath relating to an unexplained “Switzerland matter” and the Scorpions have now asked for particulars to either confirm or ­disprove his claims from the Swiss ­authorities.

A source said Maharaj’s fear was that if he was found to have lied to the Scorpions, he could see himself in the dock soon, owing to these sections of the law.

Corruption allegations against ­Maharaj followed a Scorpions’ raid ­related to their arms deal investigation at the premises of Shaik. Records of payments found resulted in allegations leaked to the media that Maharaj had received kick-backs during his ­ministerial term for state contracts awarded to Shaik.

It was later discovered that Shaik, who was Prodiba’s non-executive chairperson, had paid for a trip to ­Disneyland for Maharaj, his wife and their children.

Shaik had also made several payments into the Maharajs’ bank ­accounts before and after he had left Cabinet in 1999. FirstRand, where ­Maharaj had served as a non-executive director ­after leaving politics, investigated the claims and found that Shaik had made total payments of R328 898 allegedly for work done by Zarina.

However, there were two more ­payments of R100 000 each for which the bank could not find proper explanations.

In the presidential succession battle raging in the ANC, Maharaj is seen as a Zuma ally, both believing they were victims of machinations at the NPA. A common denominator is that both received funding from Shaik and had waged war with the NPA since the 90s.


 * From: http://www.news24.com/City_Press/News/0,,186-187_2022128,00.html**

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