OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Saturday 1.45pm.
AN offer of immunity by South African prosecutors to sacked cricket captain Hansie Cronje does not extend to legal proceedings currently under way against him in India, an official said on Sunday.
Cronje, opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs and bowler Henry Williams have all been offered immunity from prosecution in return for telling the truth about their roles in a match-fixing scandal that has engulfed South African cricket.
Bulelani Ngcuka, the national director of prosecutions who made the offer at the start Wednesday of the King Commission of inquiry into the scandal, warned however, that full disclosures are expected from the players.
Should they attempt a cover-up, they face charges in South Africa of fraud and corruption, the Sunday Times said.
Cronje, additionally, could face charges of contravening exchange control regulations, it added.
Shamila Batohi, who is leading evidence for the King Commission — sitting in Cape Town — said the offer of immunity does not relate to the charges Cronje and other players face in India.
“India is a totally different issue,” she told the Sunday Independent newspaper, adding that the South African government has given no guarantee against Cronje’s possible extradition to India.
Ngcuka’s spokesman, Sipho Ngwema, said on Saturday that the offer of immunity to the players is aimed at ending corruption in South African cricket as soon as possible.
“We want to make sure that each person who participated in match-fixing is exposed,” Ngwema said.
“The condition is that Judge Edwin King must be happy that the testimonies (of the three) were frank and honest and that they participated with the commission fully,” he said. Ngwema said if other individuals came forward with information, their cases would be dealt with individually.
King was not informed of the immunity offers by late on Saturday. Other commission officials were also kept in the dark despite the offers being made on Wednesday, Sunday newspaper reports said.
Gibbs has already been withdrawn from the South African team to tour Sri Lanka next month and he, Cronje and Williams all face life bans from the International Cricket Council.
According to a tough new ICC code of conduct, players can expect a life ban for “contriving or attempting to contrive the result of any match or the occurrence of any event.”
Cronje has yet to give evidence and, according to the Sunday Independent, there is speculation the disgraced skipper is suffering from stress and is possibly on the verge of a breakdown.
His lawyer, Les Sackstein, however, could not confirm the speculation.
“I’m his lawyer, not his doctor,’ he said.
The hearing continues on Monday. — AFP