In the run-up to his cross-examination at the Desai Commission of Inquiry in Cape Town this week, fugitive from German justice Jurgen Harksen sent a flurry of highly personal text messages to his former lawyer, Cape Town attorney Paul Katzeff.
These included such intimacies as: “I miss you”, “R you OK?”, “Danke I have 8 men look after me!!” and “Shame! Da! The truth is the beeesst!!”
By midweek Harksen was suggesting Katzeff — also lawyer to former Western Cape premier Gerald Morkel — might be tempted to lie under oath at the commission to save his career. Harksen also revealed that Katzeff had phoned him in police custody, the day before he was to testify, and allegedly asked him to lie.
“He told me I must stick to the version that I have not given money to Mr Morkel’s court case,” said Harksen.
Katzeff then joined the legal bench at the commission, shaking his head. He was yet another of Harksen’s former associates now entangled in the growing web of allegations and innuendo.
Already Harksen has the Democratic Alliance ensnared, and before cross-examination was over this week, he had fingered other prominent Capetonians: the Director of Public Prosecutions, Frank Kahn, was one. The former head of the presidential task unit, Andre Lincoln, another. Lincoln is currently standing trial for fraud.
But it is Morkel — now a part-time Cape Town Mayor for the DA — and former finance MEC Leon Markovitz who are truly trussed up in Harksen’s gossamer knots. Harksen claims he paid Morkel, Markovitz and the DA R785 000 to buy political protection and influence.
Morkel and Markovitz deny Harksen’s damaging claims. But they have conceded to having an “inappropriate” friendship with the German, and the deeper the commission digs, the clearer the association becomes. There were a number of intimate dinners, official meetings, consultations, private conversations and parties. Promises were made and contacts exchanged. Harksen even organised 20 cases of red wine for Markovitz and allegedly gave him the run of his Clifton bungalow.
Documents seized from Harksen’s home and workplace appeared to add weight to some of the claims. Now dubbed the X-files, this exhibit before the commission includes receipts for Morkel’s legal accounts, letters committing donations to the DA and cellular phone records. They appear to bear out Harksen’s claim to have contributed to Morkel’s rent, bankrolled his litigation and made a sizeable party political donation.
The DA denies the allegations. A flustered Morkel says there is an innocent explanation for each document. Forensic audits have been instituted by the party.
This week the DA had its chance to rehabilitate soiled reputations. The DA counsel, one of Cape Town’s most noted advocates, Peter Hodes, started his cross-examination of Harksen. More than once, Hodes put it to Harksen that he was a liar and buying time with falsehoods.
Harksen, priding himself on his legal knowledge, met Hodes’s cross-examination head on, offering him “free” advice and challenging him on the technical points of law. At one point he remembered that he had boasted to Morkel that he was so experienced at legal argument that, if deported, he would convince the pilot to turn the plane round.
In the background of Harksen’s evidence is his fight to avoid extradition to Germany to face multimillion-rand fraud charges.
Hodes, in turn, flourished a receipt for Morkel’s rent, paid by his personal assistant George van Dieman. This, Hodes said, put to rest the allegation that Morkel was kept by Harksen’s money in a swish Cape Town apartment. But Harksen parried, saying cash had been given directly to Morkel, and through a third party. Harksen alleged the legal fees had been dealt with in a similar way.
Hodes squeezed out of Harksen that he had not known that DA leader, Tony Leon, and the former Western Cape Community Safety MEC, Hennie Bester, knew of the alleged donations.
Hodes also pressed Harksen on the nature of the alleged transactions. Harksen had frequent memory losses as to how much money was given to whom, when and where. “I don’t remember” and “could be” were frequent retorts.
He interchanged the names of Morkel and Markovitz . He testified that Markovitz wanted to disguise his payments to the DA, while Morkel was bent on acknowledging them, with covering letters, to avoid charges of money-laundering — thus the paper trail. But he credited them as extremely persuasive fund-raisers.
And Harksen stuck to his line that he had donated hundreds of thousands to the DA office-bearers. About R400000 was presented to Markovitz in Deutschmark, at a cigar bar in Camps Bay, he claims.
Hodes acknowledged that Markovitz — a DA fund-raiser — had indeed courted Harksen for donations. Markovitz ‘s version is that Harksen had not met his promises and that no money had passed hands.
But as the hearings drew to a close, Harksen threw his net wider. He said he befriended Morkel and Markovitz because they had boasted of their influence with top Cape prosecutor, Frank Kahn. “I have to admit that lots of my problems are in the hands of Frank Kahn,” Harksen said, referring to his extradition case.
Then muttering about “sensitive” matters, he asked to reconsider his position before making further statements. He had done the same earlier, when he claimed that Morkel had a relationship with alleged Mafia boss Vito Palazzolo. Palazzolo and Morkel have issued denials. Kahn has also denied ever having discussed the Harksen matter with Morkel or Markovitz .
Morkel and Markovitz sat anxiously behind their advocate through the cross-examination, exclaiming as they listened. “It’s just not true,” Morkel said frequently. The hearings have been adjourned until August.