Tom Moyane, is seen during a press briefing held at the Sars offices where he disclosed to the media that SARS official, Jonas Makwakwa, had resigned with immediate effect, 14 March 2018, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
Suspended Sars commissioner Tom Moyane’s lawyers have demanded that president Cyril Ramaphosa halt the Sars or disciplinary inquiry into their client, Fin24 reports.
Moyane’s lawyers reportedly made the ultimatum to the president in a letter, and gave the president until 4 pm on Friday to respond.
On Monday, retired Judge Robert Nugent handed Moyane and his legal representative Advocate Dali Mpofu a setback after dismissing their appeal to have Nugent’s inquiry into Sars halted until Moyane’s disciplinary at Sars was concluded.
“Our client has sharply raised in both proceedings, the gross unfairness of being simultaneously subjected to both processes when the subject matter enquired into, as it pertains to him, is substantially the same and/or largely overlapping.
“A second objection, raised only in the Commission of inquiry, is your unlawful appointment of Prof [Michael] Katz as an assistant and thereby a decision maker therein, despite the close personal relationship and association you enjoy with him more specifically but no limited to him being your personal and business attorney in respect of past and present legal proceedings. This renders Prof Katz as an assumed agent or extension of yourself,” the letter reads.
Moyane suspected Katz of being bais, with the letter adding that the “concepts of conflict of interest, reasonable apprehension of bias and recusal” will be explained at the appropriate stage.
These reasons coupled with the establishment of two probes into the same matter is a waste of tax payer’s money. Moyane’s legal team ordered Ramaphosa to “disestablish”one of the inquiries, suggesting that due to the law the proceedings established later should be halted.
Moyane further insisted that Prof Katz was removed as an assistant to the commissioner.
Moyane plans to approach the High or Constitutional Court should Ramaphosa fail to meet his demands by the deadline.
Read the letter by Moyane’s lawyers below:
Tom Moyane Letter to President Ramaphosa
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