Johannesburg - The EFF has remained defiant that the North Gauteng High Court’s Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba was wrong to seal the CR17 funding documents in his chambers.
The EFF through its counsel advocate Ishmael Semenya made the submission to Judge Cassim Sardiwalla on Wednesday while replying to advocate Wim Trengove SC, counsel for CR17 funding committee, Ria Tenda Trust and Linkd Environmental Services.
Trengove told the court that Ledwaba sealed the documents on August 15, 2019.
“In October 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa agreed that lawyers for several organisations including the public protector must have access to these documents but must exercise confidentiality. The EFF was also given access to these documents which included the reasons for Deputy Judge President to seal the documents.
“The EFF had access to these documents but chose not to appeal the decision of the Deputy Judge President until March last year when the full Bench ruled that the investigation of the public protector into the CR17 funds was unlawful. The court found that the records are the fruits of an unlawful investigation,” Trengove said.
He expressed his dismay that the EFF chose to lodge their latest application in August last year and in their heads of argument chose to attack Judge Ledwaba.
He added: “They were given access to the documents and Judge Ledwaba’s decision in 2019. They did nothing about it. They did not initiate a process to apply for the seal to be lifted.”
In reply, Semenya said it was unheard of that case management was being conducted in chambers.
“I do not have a record of case management being conducted in chambers,” Semenya said.
He, however, did not respond to Trengove’s submission that his client had access to the details of the CR17 funders in October 2019 — ahead of a full Bench ruling in March 2020 which declared the Public Protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s investigations into the funds unlawful and illegal.
Despite not reacting to those submissions, Semenya reiterated his argument that those who campaigned for Ramaphosa to become ANC president in 2017, among them Benjamin Chauke who headed the fund, knew that they wanted him to also become president of South Africa.
Semenya, in his plea to Judge Sardiwalla to lift the seal, also asked him to consider that Chauke was later appointed special adviser to Ramaphosa following the 2019 national elections.
Judgment has been reserved.
Political Bureau