OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Tuesday 11.00pm.
PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela is setting a potentially dangerous precedent in raising funds for cleric Alan Boesak’s legal fees, Pan Africanist Congress spokeswoman Patricia de Lille told SABC3 on Tuesday.
Earlier both the Democratic Party and the National Party had criticised the move, saying that Mandela’s personal involvement in raising money for Boesak’s defence on fraud charges compromised the president’s constitutional role in terms of his right to pardon criminals.
Boesak is on trial on charges of misappropriating R1,1 million of foreign donor funding.
De Lille said Mandela, as head of state, was setting a dangerous precedent as he was ”setting out to raise funds for someone alleged to be involved in criminal activities and fraud”. She said should Mandela be involved in raising funds for Boesak in his capacity as a member of the African National Congress, however, he was ”entitled to raise funds for who ever he pleased”.
Speaking at Genadendal after talks with Lesotho’s King Letsie III, Mandela said he and Boesak’s other friends would do everything in their power to ensure Boesak had the necessary resources to defend himself in court.
Mandela said he hoped the news that he had helped raise funds for Boesak’s defence would not prejudice Boesak’s application to the Legal Aid Board.