PICS: EFF pickets outside Hillbrow police station as party lays charge against Gordhan

EFF supporters gathered in numbers outside the Hillbrow police station on Wednesday as party deputy president Floyd Shivambu laid a corruption charge against Public Enterprise Minister Pravin Gordhan.

The party alleges that Gordhan breached the Executive Ethics Act 1998 in that he attempted to unduly influence a sitting Chief Justice, which is against good governance, using his position to improperly benefit another person and failure to act in good faith.

EFF supporters gathered outside the Hillbrow police station in Johannesburg accompanying Shivambu.

EFF members and supporters gather in Hillbrow to lay a charge of corruption against Pravin Gordhan. Photos: Twitter/@EFFSouthAfrica

The crowd picketed outside the police station singing struggle songs.

They carried placards written slogans “Pravin is anti-black,” and others “Pravin is a dog”.

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng told the Judicial Services Commission on Tuesday that Gordhan had in the past requested a meeting with him to enquire about the performance of KwaZulu-Natal judge Dhaya Pillay during an earlier round of interviews for judges to be appointed to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt).

Photo: Twitter/@EFFSouthAfrica

“I was a bit surprised, we had never met except at the meeting of the heads of the arms of the state where he had to brief us as minister of finance regarding the true state of the fiscus at the time. He came [and] I took a break from the JSE proceedings. I really don’t know what the purpose of the meeting was. I don’t have a clear recollection; I think it was something about the Tax Ombud,” Mogoeng said.

“But what stuck in my mind and left me puzzled was the following: He asked me a question [and] said, ‘how did my friend [judge] Dhaya Pillay perform?’ and we had just caused the spokespersons to announce the results and I told him because it was public knowledge that you [Pillay] did not make it.”

Mogoeng said he was reminded of the meeting when the members of the JSC were questioning Pillay about her friendship with Gordhan.