Mbalula and Abrahams must urgently brief the public on state institutions break-ins and Gupta cases

11 July 2017

The Minister of Police, Fikile Mbalula, and the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Shaun Abrahams, must urgently brief the nation on two matters of serious public importance:

1. The progress, or lack thereof, in investigating the high-profile criminal charges which the DA has laid over the past 10 months, including 9 cases which relate to the Gupta family; and

2. The progress in making arrests for the various high-level break-ins which have occurred in recent months, including the break-in at Parliament’s Marks Building where laptops of journalists were stolen and the latest break-in at the Gauteng North Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) offices two nights ago.

The South African Police Service should be investigating both of these issues as a matter of priority.

The demonstration at the NPA Headquarters this morning follows a submission made by the DA Leader, Mr Mmusi Maimane, to President Jacob Zuma making the case that South Africa needs an effective NDPP. That person is most certainly not Shaun Abrahams. While it serves President Zuma well to have a seat-warmer in this position, it is still a constitutional requirement which cannot be ignored.

1. Progress on criminal charges:

Over the past 10 months, the DA has laid 13 criminal charges, against at least 23 individuals including President Zuma, members of his cabinet and members of the Gupta family and 6 companies and state entities.

Of these 13 cases, 9 cases relate to State Capture by the Gupta family.

The charges range from corruption, contempt of court, perjury and money laundering, to treason and racketeering.

A summary of the various charges can be seen in the attached table.

It is clear from a number of reports, including the Public Protector’s State of Capturereport, and the huge volume of recently leaked emails that there is rampant corruption and other serious criminal activity taking place at the most senior levels of government.

President Zuma and the Gupta family are intricately involved – it is clear that on numerous occasion they have conducted themselves in a criminal manner to extract public funds or to influence government decisions for their own personal benefit.

Repeatedly we have seen a lack of action by the South African Police Service (SAPS) to deal with these issues. Minister Mbalula needs to urgently provide the public with an update on these cases, so that we can see whether the SAPS have started their investigations.

This briefing needs to be done in conjunction with Shaun Abrahams as it is possible that these cases are already sitting with the NPA awaiting a decision on whether to prosecute.

The prima facia evidence in a lot of these cases is very clear – it is imperative that decisions on whether to investigate or prosecute are not influenced by any attempts to protect the President or his cronies.

Importantly, it has been more than 40 months since the Leader of the DA, Mmusi Maimane, laid 8 charges of corruption against Jacob Zuma for his role in the Nkandla upgrades.

To date, no decision has been taken by the NPA on whether to prosecute or not. The DA has approached both the NDPP and the Minister of Justice on this matter, seeking answers as to why the matter is so delayed. Shaun Abrahams now needs to provide the answers. He cannot continue to idle while South Africa is being sold to the highest bidder by the ANC and President Zuma. His deafening silence on these cases and break-ins really brings into question his ability to hold this position.

2. Progress in making arrests for the various high-level break-ins:

Importantly, Mbalula also needs to urgently brief the public on what the SAPS are doing to prevent break-ins such as the one at the DPP at the beginning of this week.

Over the past few months, we have seen break-ins at the DPP, the Hawks, the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) and the Helen Suzman Foundation offices.

In the OCJ case, 15 computers containing the private information of South Africa’s judges and officials were stolen.

It appears that there is a culture of intimidation brewing in our country – where anyone who stands up against corruption or those connected to power gets targeted. The DA will never bow to such intimidation – we need to be assured by Mbalula and Abrahams that neither will the SAPS or the NPA.

Importantly, to date no arrests have been made in any of these cases, and the SAPS seems unable to prevent continued break-ins. This is unacceptable – the SAPS has a duty to act and Mbalula needs to tell South Africa what has been done and what will be done to protect our institutions from further attack.

While the DA commends the swift undertaking by Police Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Francois Beukman, to summon the Acting Head of the Hawks to give a full briefing and report-back on the burglary, we also re-iterate our call that Police Minister, Fikile Mbalula, must also be summoned to the same Committee meeting to inform Parliament of his intended action as Executive Authority of the Police portfolio to this unprecedented string of break-ins, as requested in our letter to Mr Beukman sent today.

Corruption-fighting institutions are vital in any functional democracy. In South Africa, where the stories of high-level corruption increase daily, our institutions need protection.

The DA thus calls on both Minister Mbalula and Shaun Abrahams to urgently brief the public on the criminal cases which the DA has laid with the SAPS and on the recent high-level break-ins. Such a briefing is a matter of public importance to which ‘no’ is simply not an acceptable answer.

President Zuma would also do well to consider the DA’s submission that Shaun Abrahams must go. If there was any indication that he cannot hold this position, his silence during this time is one such glaring example.

Issued by Zakhele Mbhele and Adv Glynnis Breytenbach, DA Shadow Minister of Police and DA Shadow Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, 11 July 2017