Hansie Cronje’s lawyers went on the offensive on Saturday in search of the indemnity from criminal prosecution the former South African captain is seeking from the South African government. Cronje, banned from cricket for life after becoming involved in a betting scandal, stands to win the indemnity if the government decides he has told the King Commission all he knows of match-fixing. But Judge Edwin King’s final report, released on Friday, said it could not express an opinion on Cronje’s credibility. Cronje’s lawyers said on Saturday the report shed no new light on the saga and his indemnity should be assured. ”Hansie is not surprised that the final report says nothing, because there is nothing more to say,” said a statement, issued by Les Sackstein, the leader of Cronje’s legal team. A representative for prosecutions director Bulelani Ngcuka said on Friday the inability of King to decide whether Cronje had come completely clean meant the offer of indemnity no longer held good. ”Cronje does not have indemnity,” said Ngcuka’s representative, Sipho Ngwema from Pretoria. ”The deal with Mr Cronje was that he must tell the truth. – Reuters
Saturday June 30, 2001