THURSDAY, 3.30PM:
PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela will obey a subpoena to appear in the Pretoria High Court next week to testify in the South African Rugby Football Union’s attempt to have a judicial inquiry into its affairs declared illegal, Mandela’s lawyer Wim Trengrove said on Wednesday.
However, in a conflicting statement, Mandela’s spokesman Parks Mankahlana said on Thursday that a decision on Mandela’s testimony will only be made on Friday. Said Mankahlana: “The president is clear in his mind that he does want to give evidence, but his legal advisers are still uneasy; not because the president is above the law, but because a decision of this kind could set a dangerous precedent.”
It is feared that if Mandela testifies, as he has been called to do by the court, the executive authority will then be undermined by a flood of litigation.
Monday has been set aside on the President’s diary for a possible court appearance.
Meanwhile, a member of the Sports Department task team investigating Sarfu’s affairs, Advocate Gilbert Marcus, told the court he had been “shocked” to hear that Sports Director-General Mthobi Tyamzashe had falsely attributed words to Mandela in a press statement. Tyamzashe admitted to the court last week that he had falsely quoted Mandela in a press statement as having authorised Sports Minister Steve Tshwete to appoint a commission of inquiry into South African rugby.
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