MAIL & GUARDIAN REPORTERS, Johannesburg | Friday 10.00am.
THE commission of inquiry into the match- fixing scandal is in possession of a bizarre confession by Hansie Cronje, in which the disgraced former cricket captain blames his errant behaviour on Satan.
The confession, which was made to Rhema Church leader Ray McCauley, is couched in biblical terms, with references to “Satan” and “Jesus”. In it, Cronje admits to having taken his eyes “off Jesus” when “Satan” approached him.
“In a moment of stupidity and weakness I allowed Satan and the world to dictate terms to me. The moment I took my eyes off Jesus my whole world turned dark,” the confession says.
The commission, which will he headed by retired Judge Edwin “Sharkie” King, this week confirmed the authenticity of the confession.
But commission representative John Bacon asked the Mail &Guardian to limit references to the document as the hearings have yet to commence.
Although Cronje publicly confessed that he had not been “entirely honest” in his denials of involvement in match-fixing, he admitted after the scandal broke to having accepted $8200 from a bookmaker for the triangular one-day series involving England and Zimbabwe.
The confession provides the first insight into his justification for his behaviour, tracing Cronje’s dedication to Christianity.
Cronje became involved with the “reborn” Christians after accidentally killing a little girl who had darted in front of his car as he was travelling to Empangeni in Zululand for a provincial game in the early 1990s.
A representative of the United Cricket Board confirmed the authenticity but declined to discuss any details of the “Satan” confession.
Like the commission, Cronje’s lawyers asked the M&G to refrain from reporting on the details of the confession as this could prejudice Cronje’s right to a fair trial.
Cronje’s attorney, Clem Drucker, urged the M&G to hold back on publishing the confession or revealing its contents, saying that it could interfere with the due process of justice.
“Like anybody else, Hansie has a right to be considered innnocent until proven guilty,” Drucker said. “We should wait to see what emerges at the hearings.”
Cronje’s personal attorney, Lee Sackstein, told the M&G earlier this month he would never co-operate with the newspaper as it was staffed by “pornographers” – an apparent reference to a poster on the original scandal which said “F*** you, Hansie Cronje”.
The commission, which starts next week, was instituted after Indian police accused Cronje and other South African cricketers of having rigged matches during the recent tour of the subcontinent.
The Indian police have tapes allegedly of Cronje discussing targets, playing conditions and batting orders with bookmakers. The King commission is due to go to India to hear the tapes.
The terms of reference for the commission, published in the Government Gazette, say it will only probe events between November 1999 and April 2000, although it is understood Cronje acted irregularly before then.
In that regard, the terms of reference stipulate the commission could decide to explore events prior to November last year.