Dudu wades into legal minefield

Former South African Airways (SAA) chairperson Dudu Myeni waded into a legal minefield on Thursday at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, violating an order protecting the identity of a witness and then being accused of violating the Act which set up the commission by “wilfully” obstructing the work of the inquiry.

Commission chair Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo was flabbergasted when Myeni named “Mr X” in open testimony – which was livestreamed on a number of TV channels – even after he had warned her not to.

He told Myeni: “I am disappointed, I didn’t expect this from you. If somebody disrespects an order that I have made it seems to me that the person disrespects me as well.”

He then adjourned the commission early for lunch, interrupting her evidence.

After lunch, he directed that Myeni’s legal representative make submissions to him on the matter before Monday so he can decide what action to take.

Commission evidence leader advocate Kaye Hofmeyr argued that Myeni should be charged for breaching the Commissions
Act, because her revelations of the identity of “Mr X” would deter “future whistleblower witnesses from coming forward”.

Later on Thursday afternoon, no video footage could be found of the commission’s proceedings relating to the section on “Mr X”, indicating that the commission had asked media platforms not to use it.

Zondo also repeated to the media that the order prohibiting disclosure of the identity of “Mr X” was still in force.

“Mr X” testified earlier, in camera, about dealings he had with Myeni when she was chair of the Mhlathuze Water Board and how he had left wads of cash for her in her office at her house.

Myeni continued to repeat that she would not answer any questions which might incriminate her – but then went on to detail her relationship with “Mr X”.

Meanwhile, political analysts Roland Henwood, University of Pretoria political lecturer, and independent expert Dr Ralph Mathekga found Myeni playing victim “unhelpful”.

Myeni has told Zondo she was being persecuted for her closeness to Zuma.

Said Henwood: “It is a politically populist mechanism for defence and survival, in line with a defence argument we have seen former president Jacob Zuma putting forward – to disarm your opponents and put them on the back foot.

“She is playing to the public gallery, trying to gain public sympathy, and putting pressure on the commission that they are persecuting her.

“To a degree, you can refuse to incriminate yourself by not answering questions but, at some point, it will boil down to the fact that you had an opportunity to explain and defend yourself, but you did not use it.”

Said Mathekga: “Myeni has enjoyed a lot of privileges because of her association with Jacob Zuma, demonstrated by her having
served on various boards of state-owned enterprises, without any qualifications.

“She has enjoyed these privileges because of her personal relationship with Zuma. It is nonsensical for her to say she is being victimised for what she has done, while she enjoyed the Zuma privileges.

“She is the one who used her relationship with Zuma to access power by occupying powerful positions.

“This inquiry hearing has to do with her conduct when she was in power and should account to the country about what led to SAA being in the situation it finds itself today.”

– news@citizen.co.za

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