Advocate Willem Heath on Tuesday said he resigned as head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) because doubt had arisen as to whether he could lead the corruption-busting body in an independent manner.
“The events of the past two weeks have created the impression that I am unable to head the SIU independently,” he said in a statement to the Witness newspaper.
“Correct or not, the initial media coverage of an interview in which I participated left the impression that I made unqualified statements of political events which may be unbecoming of the head of the SIU.”
President Jacob Zuma in November appointed Heath to replace Willie Hofmeyr as head of the SIU. Heath had run the unit in the late 1990s before he was dismissed by then president Thabo Mbeki.
Within days of being named to the post, Heath gave an interview to the City Press newspaper in which he accused Mbeki of orchestrating rape and corruption charges against Zuma.
Mbeki has denied the allegations and challenged Heath to produce proof.
He has not done so, and instead resigned as SIU chief last week after various quarters questioned his suitability for the job.
Heath said all South Africans should be able to approach the SIU to approach corruption, regardless of their political beliefs, and the impression that the head of the unit was partisan could therefore undermine its work.
“If the impression is therefore created, correctly or through innuendo, that the head of the SIU is not independent enough to deliver on such a mandate, the SIU and the republic would be better served by me resigning from such a position.” — Sapa