Authorities on Tuesday again backed down from arresting Oilgate kingpin Sandi Majali after he applied to court to block the warrant until acting prosecutions head Mokotedi Mpshe had considered his representations.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele bowed to Majali’s demand. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which had earlier vowed to resist it, appears to have concurred.
Attempts to charge Majali with the alleged laundering of bribes to a KwaZulu-Natal education official in a R450-million stationery supply contract stem from Scorpions investigations started in 2006 and 2007, according to papers in Majali’s application to the Gauteng South High Court.
The Scorpions raided Majali a year ago. In May they sent him 54 questions relating to his dealings with Pamela Zulu, an education official. When he had not answered a month later, the now-defunct unit informed Majali’s attorney he would be charged on July 1 and obtained a warrant for his arrest.
Majali prepared a first urgent application seeking to interdict his arrest, claiming he had not had enough time to answer the questions and a Scorpions advocate had admitted that the urgency was partly because the unit was to be disbanded five days later.
In response, the Scorpions agreed not to arrest Majali until he had answered the questions. The investigation was then transferred to the police.
The Mail & Guardian reported two weeks ago that the NPA had decided to reactivate the arrest warrant — apparently after considering his answers. Within days, Majali made representations to Mpshe, asking him to review the KwaZulu-Natal prosecutions head’s decision to charge him, and launched a fresh interdict application to block the warrant for his arrest pending Mpshe’s review.
NPA spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said at the time: “We’ll definitely oppose his application.”
On Tuesday the court was told that the respondents, Mthethwa and Cele, had agreed to settle: the arrest would be stayed pending Mpshe’s review.
Mhaga told the M&G yesterday the NPA “won’t oppose”. Majali, he said, had agreed to “present himself in court within five days” should Mpshe not decide in his favour.