‘Arrest political criminals’ – Malema

Economic Fredom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has warned National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss, Shaun Abrahams, that once the EFF comes to power, he will be charged for failing to prosecute “political criminals”.

Malema said the NPA, the police, the Hawks and the entire security cluster, were long ago captured by the Gupta family.

Malema said this after laying charges of fraud, corruption, theft, money laundering and racketeering against President Jacob Zuma, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and Transnet leadership.

Following an hour-long meeting with the management of Central Johannesburg police station, where the case was opened during lunchtime yesterday, Malema and a few of his national executive committee members came out with a case number in hand to confirm that the charges had been laid.

The matter arose from allegations of corruption involving four foreign companies that submitted bids for contracts to supply locomotives to state-owned enterprise, Transnet.

The companies, Bombadier from Canada, General Electric from the US and two Chinese firms – China South Rail and China North Rail – were granted the contracts but at prices that were inflated from their original bids.

Bombadier and China South Rail prices were raised to more than R50 million per unit from about R30 million for electric locomotives while those of China North Rail and General Electric were increased up to R42 million and R38 million per unit respectively for diesel locomotives. This resulted in Transnet charged an estimated R17 billion extra.

The EFF believes the amount of R17 billion went into the pockets of politicians, Transnet leadership – including its former CEO Brian Molefe – and the parastatal’s board of directors.

In his address to a crowd of EFF supporters outside the police station, Malema said the charges were opened not due to their hatred of the ANC but to protect the national purse.

“We must protect the limited resources of the state from these political criminals. If those limited resources are for a few, many of our poor people will continue to suffer,” Malema said.

They were not inspired by hatred and anger but by the plight of the suffering masses, he said.

“We cannot sit back when we see that there are people who are stealing your money,” he said.

He warned the police to stop protecting what he called “political criminals” in the ANC.

Malema said although they had opened many cases against Zuma in the past, no investigation was done and none of those cases were prosecuted.

“The police are not acting against the black elite. We say to the police, stop being used by a corrupt, outgoing regime. A new regime is coming and we will arrest Zuma and the police who protect him,” he said.

Malema said Zuma could afford a R500 million mansion in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates because the R17 billion had been stolen through the Transnet tenders.

“Crime is not punished in South Africa. It is celebrated. Let’s fight corruption wherever we are. Corruption must be exposed,” he said to loud applause from the EFF supporters gathered outside the police station. – ericn@citizen.co.za