Remove political power as hideout for the corrupt, Batohi

For many years, Tony Yengeni held the unenviable record of being the only serving parliamentarian to have served jail time for corruption. His conviction and sentencing to four years in prison in 2003 was, for many years, seen by the ruling party as an anomaly.

The deputy secretary-general of the ANC even branded his conviction a “mistake”, arguing that negotiating a discount on a car should not be grounds to send someone to jail.

What Jessie Duarte failed to mention was that Yengeni’s 47% discount on a Mercedes-Benz was obtained from a supplier who clinched multimillion-rand contracts in the arms deal.

Following the arrest of current home affairs portfolio committee chair and former state security minister Bongani Bongo on charges of corruption, Yengeni might be just about to lose his “special place” in corruption folklore.

Bongo is accused of offering advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara a blank cheque to call in sick in order to derail parliament’s inquiry into state capture. Should Bongo be found guilty and sentenced to jail, he will likely spend more than the four months Yengeni did.

It would appear that Shamila Batohi has finally got her ducks almost perfectly aligned at the National Prosecuting Authority. Her team is ready to give real teeth to Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s Commission of Inquiry into State Capture by effecting real arrests of suspects outed in the course of the commission doing its job.

If Bongo were to be convicted, it would be interesting. Like Yengeni, the conviction would not be for actually receiving dirty money, but rather an offence against parliament.

Yengeni was convicted for failing to declare his discount to parliament – and Bongo is on bail for trying to derail a parliamentary process.

The backdrop to Bongo’s arrest also included the arrest of 10 suspects allegedly involved in the multimillion-rand Eastern Cape toilet scandal.

The wheels of justice in cases like these take a while to get moving but this is what South Africa has been waiting for: an indication that blatant looting of state resources is punishable by law and that, in the face of the rampant looting of the last decade, it is indeed an anomaly that Yengeni is still the only high-profile politician to have a conviction against his name for a corrupt act.

Despite bizarre tweets by people such as Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina appearing to defend state capture proponents by suggesting that people like Bongo are being arrested for their “ideas”, Bongo’s arrest is a clear indication that political positions, however powerful, are no place to hide from the revived Hawks and NPA.

Bongo was quick to point out that ruling party secretary-general Ace Magashule is next in line to be arrested. While that would be Batohi’s biggest fish yet, it would not be surprising at all, given the kind of testimonies that have come from the commission Zondo chairs.

Magashule would be a bigger fish than Bongo because of the powerful position he holds in the ruling party.

Yengeni, Bongo and Magashule have one thing in common: political power. In the past, this has worked to protect politicians from facing the law for their corrupt practices.

That’s why even Duarte could defend Yengeni so many years later: political power carries real currency.

Batohi’s real test is to remove political power as a hiding place for corrupt politicians.

Sydney Majoko

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