Johannesburg - The Minister of Defence, Nosiviwe Maphisa-Nqakula, has been served with papers demanding the reinstatment of suspended SA Air Force officers after charges against them were withdrawn without explanation on Tuesday.
Lieutenant-Colonel Stefan Van Zyl and Lieutenant-Colonel Christine Anderson were accused of fraud and corruption in the landing of a private jet, chartered by the wealthy Gupta family, at Waterkloof Air Force base in Tshwane on April 30, 2013.
It was carrying about 200 guests attending the wedding of a daughter of the Guptas at Sun City.
SA National Defence Union (Sandu) national secretary Pikkie Greef said on Friday a letter from lawyers representing Van Zyl was sent to the defence minister on Thursday.
The minister failed to respond, which led Van Zyl to proceed with legal steps.
“Lawyers for Sandu and Van Zyl have today warned the SANDF that urgent legal action will be instituted against the Department of Defence should it fail to immediately uplift the suspension of the officer and reinstate him accordingly. Sandu will not hesitate to approach the courts to have the officer concerned reinstated,” Greef said.
A letter from Van Zyl’s lawyers blamed the minister for not complying with the demands to reinstate him and provide a date on which he could report for duty.
Greef said the legal costs were estimated at hundreds of thousands of rands. And the union was suing the state for costs and defamation of character suffered by its members.
“We cannot and will not, however, allow our client to remain prejudiced in this matter and will not hesitate to protect his rights. We implore you to urgently comply with our demands and to provide us with your written confirmation to avoid… expensive litigation,” said the law firm.
But defence spokesman Simphiwe Dlamini denied the letter demanded that Van Zyl be reinstated. “It was not demanding but a request that we look into it. I can assure you the matter is being attended to,” he said.
Greef claimed the officers were outraged at the false allegations and seeking justice. “We will sue them for the suffering imposed on our members, whose dignity has always been under scrutiny for the wrong reasons. Our members have been viewed with suspicion but others supported them. It was clear to their families that something was amiss from the word go.”
President Jacob Zuma’s name is expected to feature in the proceedings after Greef said Anderson has text messages that implicate him.
Greeff confirmed that civil proceedings would be instituted by Anderson and Van Zyl. “Sandu confirms both officers have already provided instructions to its legal team to immediately institute civil lawsuits against all the state organs which were involved in implicating them,” he said.
He said Van Zyl would sue for prejudice to career advancement having been forced to spend two years at home, but the damage will be determined by actuarial experts.
Zuma’s name has been linked to the saga from the beginning. In October 2013, during the military tribunal of four officers, it emerged that former chief of state protocol Bruce Koloane had said “Number One” wanted to know whether everything was still on track. - The Sunday Independent