The Scorpions’ probe into allegations of bribery and corruption against one of its own top investigators is being hampered by a raging legal battle initiated by a finance parastatal in Mpumalanga. At the same time, documents emanating from the legal wrangle have cast new light on the Scorpions’ probe into Cornwell Tshavhungwa, a deputy director of public prosecutions.
The Mail & Guardian last week revealed that the Scorpions are investigating Tshavhungwa for allegedly accepting bribes from officials at the parastatal, Mpumalanga Economic Empowerment Corporation (MEEC).
Tshavhungwa was suspended last month on the instruction of National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka after representations by senior Scorpions investigators.
A legal battle between the Scorpions and MEEC, detailed in court documents, has hindered the probe. The corporation launched the court action after its offices were raided by the Scorpions last month. During the raid of MEEC’s provincial headquarters, a high-level Scorpions team seized boxes of alleged documentary evidence, including contracts, invoices and correspondence. They also confiscated cellphones and made copies of hard-drives.
MEEC responded to the raid by launching an urgent interdict against the Scorpions in the Pretoria High Court. The parastatal is challenging the legality of the search and seizure warrant, originally issued by Transvaal Judge President Bernard Ngoepe on 16 March. It also claims that the Scorpions seized documents unrelated to the probe.
On March 29 Judge Essop Patel granted the interdict and ordered the Scorpions to surrender the seized material to the registrar of the court pending the main application to set aside the search warrant.
Two days later, he withdrew the interdict order after the Scorpions appealed. However, the parastatal is still pursuing its main application to set aside the search warrant. The matter will be heard next week.
MEEC insists that the Scorpions did not execute the search warrant according to the law. The corporation is also seeking the return of the seized documents and discs on the grounds that their seizure could not have been authorised by the search warrant.
MEEC has raised concerns that the Scorpions are on a “fishing expedition”. But the Scorpions insist that the raid was “within the language of the law”. The Scorpions’ defence is contained in an affidavit submitted by Rudolf Mastenbroek, a senior official of the national prosecuting authority.
Mastenbroek said in his affidavit that MEEC’s allegation — that the raid was unlawful — was “scurrilous and defamatory”.
He confirmed that the Scorpions were “presently investigating alleged corrupt conduct, in contravention of the Corruption Act on the part of Tshavhungwa”.
Tshavhungwa, he said, “allegedly diverted the focus of a criminal investigation conducted by the [Scorpions] away from the MEEC and its CEO Ernest Khosa.”
Allegedly in exchange, Mastenbroek said, “the close corporation known as Ramcorp Business Concepts, in which Tshavhungwa has a financial interest, was awarded a tender through corrupt means”. He added: “Tshavhungwa’s wife and brother have since been employed by MEEC.”
Scorpions sources sympathetic to the deputy director last week claimed that he is being targeted for pursuing senior political leaders.
They claim the allegations against Tshavhungwa, who has participated in the probe of, among others, Deputy President Jacob Zuma, came from a disgruntled MEEC official and certain Scorpions investigators saw it as an opportunity to deal with him. They claim the allegations that Tshavhungwa had damning information about the parastatal’s managers were untrue. One Tshavhungwa associate said: “The Scorpions have to show what Tshavhungwa had against MEEC managers and suppressed in exchange for a bribe.”
But the Scorpions seem to believe that the deputy director has many questions to answer.
In his statement, Mastenbroek contends that Ramcorp, which is run by a Tshavhungwa relative, “has made payments to Tshavhungwa that the latter describes as income for rendering legal services to the former”.
This, Mastenbroek said, “is curious, since Tshavhungwa is in the full-time employ of the National Prosecuting Authority and does not have the permission of the director general to render service or earn income beyond his remuneration”.
In addition, Mastenbroek said Ramcorp “has been paid by MEEC against irregular invoices that were not properly executed or signed”. Mastenbroek said the Scorpions have “made out a proper case” and were entitled to raid MEEC.
Khosa last week said in a statement issued by law firm Nalane Manaka Inc that MEEC had nothing to hide and would cooperate with the Scorpions probe.
“As a state institution, our client will always cooperate with the National Prosecuting Authority or any state agency in this kind of investigation as long as it is in terms of the law.”