Johannesburg - Senior government officials loyal to President Jacob Zuma allegedly struck a deal with suspended chief of state protocol Vusi Bruce Koloane that he be sacrificed to protect the executive’s image ahead of next year’s elections.
Government sources told The Star on Sunday that the full report into the Waterkloof Air Force Base plane-landing scandal was “tailor-made” to exonerate the executive at all costs and to never directly blame the Guptas – as doing so would implicate Zuma by association.
Suggesting that an independent judicial inquiry appointed by Parliament was the only vehicle to shed light on what actually transpired, they said the directors-general appeared to have been deliberately appointed to probe the scandal because there was no way they would find their bosses guilty.
Radebe accused unnamed officials of dropping the names of Zuma, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and others in a bid to exercise “undue influence”.
The public servants who spoke to The Star were either directly involved or were briefed by relevant officials.
They described the report as a “fallacy” because it implied that the affected ministers had no idea of what went on in their departments and that Koloane was supposedly in charge.
Releasing a summary of the report at a media briefing in Pretoria on Sunday, the seven-member cabinet team, led by Justice Minister Jeff Radebe, blamed the scandal on “collusion, abuse of privileges and manipulation of processes” by various officials.
These included Koloane, the chief of state protocol, and Lieutenant-Colonel C Anderson, officer commanding movement control at Waterkloof.
Sources claimed that officials had promised to look after Koloane and his family if he took the fall.
Radebe denied any wrong-doing by the executive and dismissed suggestions of a cover-up. He and his colleagues brushed aside claims of a whitewash and refused to answer direct questions, referring journalists to the yet-to-be released report.
“The collusion of officials resulted in the irregular approval of the flight clearance. Members of the executive were not required to issue any instructions, did not issue any instructions and did not create the impression that they ought to have issued any instruction,” Radebe maintained.
He refused to say whether investigators had found any substance to allegations that the Guptas had bribed Koloane.
“It is not covered in the final report. Who has to be prosecuted or charged will be determined by the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) and the police.”
Radebe insisted “we are not aware” whether the Guptas had previously landed at Waterkloof.
No further meeting would be convened regarding the scandal because the probe had been concluded, he added.
Sources said the final report confirmed The Star’s revelation last week that the preliminary report had put the spotlight on Koloane and questioned the government’s “weak” systems.
However, last week, the Guptas said they would not be commenting because the media were on a “fishing expedition”. They promised to co-operate with official investigators only.
The report allegedly was silent on what action, if any, would be taken against the wealthy family’s links to Zuma.
In a bizarre turn of events, the report described Waterkloof as a “strategic military base”, not a national key point as it was called by many, including ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe.
So far, the cabinet has failed to answer these questions:
* Why and how could the directors-general be appointed to probe their bosses?
* How did Koloane pull off such a massive exercise without his superiors’ knowledge?
* What was his motive for risking his career to help the Guptas, and what did he stand to benefit?
* Did the Guptas previously land at Waterkloof?
A highly placed source said the government’s overall strategy was to deflect attention by deliberately blaming Koloane.
The Star