Politician Kent Morkel has denied that he received a massive bribe from Badih Chaaban, the former city councillor and head of the National People’s Party. The bribe allegation is likely to come before the Erasmus commission set up to probe Cape Town’s ”Spygate” allegations that the ruling Democratic Alliance illegally spied on Chaaban and other local politicians.
The vexed commission this week had a second high court interdict brought against it by city speaker Dirk Smit. The interim judgement is expected on Monday.
At 11am the upmarket Five Flies restaurant in Cape Town is still closed to the public except for Kent Morkel. The manager greets him by name, opening the door.
”We sit upstairs,” Morkel says, pointing to a couple of brown leather couches. ”You can lie down if you want — this is where I have my meetings with Badih Chaaban and Truman Prince and where we each lie down on a couch and talk politics,” Morkel says mockingly, referring to the two most controversial politicians in the Western Cape.
During the interview, he denied ever receiving bribes from Chaaban.
Morkel is from Retreat and the Morkel name and Cape politics are like bergies and the south-easter to this town.
City council ”spy” and National Intelligence Agency agent Phillip du Toit, employed by George Fivaz and Associates to probe Chaaban’s unique business style prior to the floor-crossing period last year, said in an affidavit — and confirmed to the Mail & Guardian last week — that while he was busy with his probe into Chaaban’s alleged bribes and threats to councillors, Morkel phoned him, saying that he had received an amount of R800 000 from Chaaban.
”He said it was difficult for him to speak, but wanted to tell me that when he did business with Chaaban, he received an amount of R800 000. I speak under correction on the amount, but it was something close to that,” Du Toit said.
He is not the only one making this claim. Three weeks ago former National People’s Party spokesperson Juan Duval Uys said in a sworn statement that he had personally counted out the R100 000 that Chaaban allegedly gave to Morkel.
”He asked me to double-check the amount, because he had to take it to Vida Café at the Waterfront to give to Kent Morkel. I counted the money and it was R100 000. I put the money in an envelope,” Uys said.
Towards the end of last year, Uys claims, Chaaban told him: ”Even the fucking ANC wants money from me —” Uys says Chaaban paid 15 members of the ANC and DA.
He claims in his statement that Chaaban told him that Morkel took R800 000, ”which was the biggest amount of money paid, because he [Morkel] was going to bring seven councillors [to the NPP] with him”.
”No money has ever changed hands between me and Chaaban,” Morkel says, adding that he is with the ANC to stay.
Chaaban says that it’s ”rubbish, rubbish, rubbish” that he paid Morkel. ”I will sue whoever says this,” he threatens.