As Advocate Kessie Naidu prepares answers to the 35 questions posed by the Scorpions to Deputy President Jacob Zuma, he may have personal reasons to ensure investigators are satisfied with the replies.
The Mail & Guardian has established that Naidu has business connections with some of the same networks around Zuma and the late defence minister Joe Modise that are the focus of the Scorpions’s probe – though there is no suggestion that Naidu himself is being investigated.
Another matter that has raised eyebrows in Zuma’s choice of lawyer is Naidu’s long-standing association with Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Penuell Maduna – the very minister to whom National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka reports.
Maduna’s department includes the Scorpions and he will make the ultimate decision whether to prosecute the deputy president.
Among the 35 questions the Scorpions posed to Zuma about an alleged bribe by French arms manufacturer Thales and on his financial interests in general, Zuma was asked whether he had received benefits directly or indirectly from a company by the name of Bohlabela Wheels.
Bohlabela is a heavy vehicle maintenance company based in Mpumalanga that specialises in servicing military vehicles for the National Defence Force. It is led by Nora Fakude-Nkuna, a Nelspruit businesswoman with links to Zuma, Naidu and Modise.
Naidu and Fakude-Nkuna are partners in three empowerment consortia: the Isiyalu consortium, which holds a 20% share in security giant Securicor; the Harambee consortium, which bought into powerful engineering consultants BKS; and the Coal Energy Power Resources consortium, which has formed a joint venture with Sasol to market methane gas.
Prior to his death, Modise served as chairperson of BKS, and his company JoeMod Enterprises formed part of the gas consortium.
Naidu, a prominent Durban advocate who is chairperson of the Road Accident Fund, is known to be close to Justice Minister Maduna, whom he represented at the controversial hearings into the auditor general’s reporting on the Strategic Fuel Fund.
Maduna’s wife, Nompumelelo Cheryl, is a director of BKS subsidiary Khuthele Projects and is listed as a director of Tshisima Holdings, which holds a stake in both Coal Energy and Securicor.
Naidu this week failed to respond to questions whether he felt the Scorpions probe was getting close to home.
Zuma’s links with Fakude-Nkuna are more personal. The two are said to be on friendly terms and Zuma is understood to have stayed at Fakude-Nkuna’s home when African National Congress business has taken him to Mpumalanga.
He gave the keynote address at the function held to celebrate Bohlabela Wheels being granted status as agents for local armoured vehicle manufacturers Reumech OMC. The company is now owned by the British company Alvis (previously Vickers), but with an empowerment stake held by a company headed by former Armscor board member Diliza Mji and Moeletsi Mbeki, the president’s brother.
A director of Bohlabela is Raymond Zuma. Zuma, who also once ran a Durban security company, declined to comment about whether he is related to the deputy president or on the Scorpions’s interest in Bohlabela. Fakude-Nkuna did not respond to messages left for her.
The Scorpions have also asked the deputy president about the settlement of various of his debts, at least one of which was previously linked to another prominent Mpumalanga figure, Pieter Rootman.
Rootman, an advisor to former Mpumalanga premier Mathews Phosa, is still on trial for the alleged misappropriation of funds during his tenure.
In 2001, the M&G reported that in March 1998, the overdue bond on one of Zuma’s houses was settled using money transferred by Rootman. After an initial silence this was denied by Zuma. At the time Zuma also denied a claim that he had tried to intervene in the case against Rootman.
The Scorpions have also posed questions to Zuma about debts to two other companies, AQ Holdings and Michigan Investments.
Michigan is controlled by a Walter Warden of Cape Town and is believed to control a townhouse in Johannesburg belonging to Zuma. Warden’s number is unlisted and he could not be reached for comment.
AQ is controlled by the Mangera family of Stanger. Abdul Mangera declined to comment on his relationship with Zuma, but told the M&G he had not yet been interviewed by the Scorpions.
Zuma has indicated he will respond to the questions, probably by next week, but the response of his personal financial adviser Schabir Shaik, may take longer.
Shaik’s attorney, Reeves Parsee, told the M&G that an application for leave to appeal had been lodged against an earlier high court ruling compelling Shaik to answer Scorpions questions about his relationship with Zuma.
Shaik had earlier answered questions about his relationship with former transport minister Mac Maharaj, which forms part of a separate Scorpions probe.
Maharaj this week delivered his response to an investigation launched by FirstRand into gifts and payments he allegedly received from Shaik.
FirstRand said its board would consider the ”comprehensive” submission before deciding on Maharaj’s future as a director.
Meanwhile, officials in the Scorpions unit told the M&G the unit was under severe pressure, despite government assurances that it would not be disbanded.
”Almost the entire old underground network has been mobilised in support of Zuma. That means people in intelligence, in the police, in government. It’s scary,” commented one.
While there was no likelihood of the unit being closed down, its leadership and reporting lines were under threat.
A number of individuals close to the Zuma camp reiterated this week that Zuma was confident he would survive the probe.
However, it is understood that the Scorpions are pressing ahead with finalising their investigation before the departure at the end of this month of lead investigator, Gerda Ferreira.
Ngcuka will be presented with a final report and recommendation about the arms deal investigation. He will then have to make a decision about whether to prosecute.
Several sources have suggested Ngcuka may choose to make the results of the probe public, even if he finds insufficient evidence to support a decision to charge Zuma, or anyone else.
