‘National embarrassment’: Political parties slam ‘bungled’ Gupta brothers extradition

Some political parties have expressed their dissatisfaction after South Africa’s request to extradite Gupta brothers, Rajesh and Atul, rejected by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola confirmed in a briefing on Friday that government’s quest to bring the Guptas to South Africa to face money laundering and fraud charges was unsuccessful.

According to Lamola, the wanted fugitives’ extradition hearing took place in the UAE on 13 February, however, the South African government was only notified about the dismissal of their application this week.

He said his department was “bemused” by the decision and would engage with the UAE to lodge an appeal.

‘Monumental failure’

The Democratic Alliance (DA) since described the “bungled” Gupta extradition as a “national embarrassment” and “monumental failure”.

The party criticised Lamola’s reaction to the news, in which he stated that he was “shocked and dismayed”.

“This is a disgrace and confirms his utter lack of control of this portfolio and gross dereliction of duty,” DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said in statement.

Breytenbach questioned why the Department of Justice was only informed of the UAE’s rejection on Thursday.

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“This begs the question of what exactly the criminal justice cluster has been doing for the past year. Each query has been met with platitudes and hollow assurances that everything was under control. Clearly, this is far from the truth,” the DA MP said.

She also cast doubt on whether there was serious intention to successfully extradite the Gupta brothers.

“Bearing in mind the consequences it would have ensued for so many highly placed ANC members. This is a massive failure on the part of both institutions and a serious blow to holding the perpetrators of State Capture accountable.”

She added that confirmed that the DA will write to Parliament, requesting an urgent meeting with the Lamola’s department and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) “to account for this unacceptable state of affairs”.

‘Lost respect’

Although the failure of the extradition was request was disappointing, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba welcomed that the justice ministry will appeal the decision by UAE courts.

In a statement, Mashaba said the fact that the UAE rejected the extradition request, but government was only made aware of the decision recently, confirmed that South Africa had “lost the respect of the international community”.

“It’s concerning that our diplomats in the UAE failed to keep the government updated on the court proceedings. Both Justice Minister, Ronald Lamola, and International Relations Minister, Naledi Pandor, need to answer difficult questions about this,” he said.

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The ActionSA leader further blamed the conflicting international relations policies of South Africa and the ANC for the UAE’s failure to take the matter seriously.

“It’s also important to question how the ANC-led government allowed and possibly assisted the Gupta family in leaving South Africa, after allegations of their involvement in state capture first emerged.

“The ANC enabled the Guptas and their associates to steal billions from state coffers, and it seems like their policies will allow the Guptas to get away with their crimes.”

‘Justice system failing’

Meanwhile, the Congress of the People (Cope) said it was of the view that President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government was losing the battle against corruption.

“This Gupta extradition saga doesn’t give us hope that those who are responsible for collapsing the economy will ever see the inside of a prison cell. The criminal justice system is really failing this country. This government is always shocked when something is happening,” Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem told SABC News.

South Africa delivered a formal extradition request to the UAE in July last year after the Gupta brothers were arrested in the middle eastern country a month earlier.

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