Further allegations of abuse of power have emerged against National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka — this time from within the prosecuting authority itself.
The allegations come a week before Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana releases his long-awaited report on whether Ngcuka abused his authority while investigating Deputy President Jacob Zuma.
At the centre of the new allegations against Ngcuka and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is Cornwell Tshavhungwa, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions who was suspended last month on Ngcuka’s instructions.
Tshavhungwa was suspended for allegedly accepting bribes from officials at a government finance institution in Mpumalanga.
Like Zuma, Tshavhungwa has now approached Mushwana to probe the Scorpions for abuse of power. Mushwana this week confirmed receiving Tshavhungwa’s complaint.
The Mail & Guardian this week obtained documents which form part of Tshavhungwa’s complaint.
In the documents, Tshavhungwa claims the Scorpions have failed to prove their original allegations against him — that he received kickbacks from officials attached to the Mpumalanga Economic Empowerment Corporation (MEEC) through a company called Ramcorp — and have now begun a ”fishing expedition” and ”witch-hunt” against him.
”They went full out for me when they started their investigation. It was unfortunate that they could not get any evidence for their corruption allegation. Their failure then prompted them to hunt for people to whom Ramcorp has rendered services. They went illegally outside the scope of their investigation thinking that they would find evidence that they badly need to nail me,” Tshavhungwa said.
”It is astonishing that the emphasis of the investigation is no longer about the claim that I was bribed. In fact, they are now conducting investigations and a financial profile of my family members and friends and Ramcorp’s previous business transactions. They are engaged in the said exercise even though there were no complaints that any of my family members committed crimes,” he added.
NPA spokesperson Sipho Ngwema this week said Tshavhungwa was bitter because the Scorpions were probing him.
”The [NPA] received information from concerned members of the public alleging that … Tshavhungwa … was involved in extortion and corruption.
”This warranted his suspension and this was duly done. Angered by these developments Mr Tshavhungwa threatened to go to the media and allege abuse of power. Mr Tshavhungwa is building a political defence for himself. He is using his case to drum up possible public sympathy by jumping on to the anti-Ngcuka bandwagon and hide behind his problem. He will not succeed.”
Tshavhungwa claims that the Scorpions intimidated and exerted undue pressure on witnesses by threatening them with arrest. The M&G has a letter addressed to Ngcuka by Makwela & Mabotja, legal representatives of one Steve Mashalane, a Limpopo government official, complaining about the Scorpions investigative tactics.
The letter was forwarded to Ngcuka last Thursday. It says: ”We wish to place it on record that we compiled a statement on Monday the 10th May which our client [Mashalane] deposed to being the facts falling within his knowledge. However, you rejected his statement and inserted your own paragraphs which you insisted must be part of the affidavit”.
Makwela & Mabotja urged Ngcuka and his investigators ”to apply your investigative tactics with respect to our client and appreciate our position that our client should only confine himself to factual issues he is conversant with”.
”A statement or affidavit is a declaration deposed to by a deponent without fear and must be voluntary. The moment you demand other factors to be contained in our client’s affidavit, it is no more his affidavit and he cannot stand by it. The purpose of an affidavit as you would prefer it, then loses its meaning and integrity,” Makwela & Mabotja wrote.
Ngcuka’s handling of the Zuma probe — in which he stated that there was prima facie evidence of corruption against the deputy president, but insufficient evidence to win the case in court — brought him in direct confrontation with leading African National Congress figures.
Tshavhungwa’s claims may serve to buttress the view of the Zuma camp that Ngcuka and/or the NPA abuse his/its authority. Zuma’s complaints and that of others were initially supposed to be investigated by the Hefer commission. But commission chairperson, retired judge Joos Hefer, did not make a finding on the claims, saying he had been precluded from doing so by the commission’s terms of reference.
Mushwana’s investigation into Zuma’s complaint commenced after the Hefer commission concluded its work and submitted its report to President Thabo Mbeki.
It is not clear exactly what Mushwana’s findings would be but indications are that it will reflect negatively on Ngcuka and the NPA.
Mushwana stated at the start of his probe that he had looked at findings made by Hefer. Hefer found, among other things, that matters in Ngcuka’s office ”do not appear to be what they should be”. Hefer said it was clear there had been leaks from the NPA about an ongoing criminal investigation into one of Ngcuka’s main accusers on the spy claims — former transport minister Mac Maharaj and his wife.
Maharaj and others — whose claims that Ngcuka may have been an apartheid spy were quashed by the Hefer commission — will be looking at Mushwana’s report, expected to be released publicly before the end of next week, with great interest.
Mushwana’s findings could also accelerate Ngcuka’s plans to quit the top job. However, Ngcuka’s departure will also, in turn, create a leadership vacuum at the NPA, which is currently in a state of flux.
Complicating the matter further is that the man tipped to replace Ngcuka, former Limpopo premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi, still needs to deal with corruption allegations being investigated by the NPA.
The M&G this week obtained information compiled in March, which confirms that the Scorpions have been probing Ramatlhodi. Ironically, Tshavhungwa was the lead investigator in the Scorpions probe of Ramatlhodi.