National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shaun Abrahams should do the right thing and withdraw the charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his former South African Revenue Service (Sars) deputies, Oupa Magashula and Ivan Pillay, and then resign, the DA said on Sunday.
Reports showed that Abrahams ignored vital evidence in his decision to charge Gordhan, Pillay and Magashula with fraud, and that the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), guided by prosecutor Torie Pretorius, had conducted what could only be described as a cursory investigation, DA spokeserson Glynnis Breytenbach said.
“In light of this, Abrahams should do the right thing and immediately withdraw the charges,” she said.
Court papers filed by the Helen Suzman Foundation showed that Abrahams and Pretorius purposefully ignored evidence that showed granting early retirement was not an unusual practice.
“Reports today (Sunday) also suggest that the Hawks had not yet properly completed their investigation, that the docket handed to Abrahams was not complete and lacked vital evidence. This only confirms the capture of both the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority and the Hawks by those who wish to use these institutions to carry out political witch hunts,” Breytenbach said.
The Hawks had resorted to shocking bully tactics in their investigation and had stooped to locking up Sars deputy director of law administration Vlok Symington in the Sars boardroom in Pretoria. They then demanded that he hand over copies of an e-mail from an attorney for Sars, David Makapela, and manhandled him when he refused. Symington declined to depose to an affidavit on the Gordhan charges due to ethical reasons.
“Now it appears that Abrahams is trying to worm his way out of this mess by saying that he had no part in the decision to go ahead with the charges. He cannot expect the South African public to believe that as NDPP he had no say in or was not consulted on the decision,” she said.
“He has a rather unfortunate history of not taking responsibility for bad decisions. He blamed the decision to withdraw charges against (former deputy DPP Nomgcobo) Jiba on the hapless Marshall Mokgathle, (regional head of the specialised commercial crime unit), and blames this shocker on Torie Pretorius. Someone should tell him the buck stops with him.
“The only proper thing for Abrahams to do would be to withdraw the charges against Gordhan, Pillay and Magashula, admit that he is not up to the task and resign. Along with his henchman, Torie Pretorius,” Breytenbach said. – African News Agency