Sars whistleblower Symington suffers another legal blow

Senior SA Revenue Service (Sars) legal expert Vlok Symington has suffered another blow in his legal quest to permanently stop his disciplinary hearing on charges of misconduct.

Judge TJ Raulinga turned down a bid by rights group Freedom Under Law (FUL) to intervene in his battle against Sars as a friend of the court.

FUL wanted to make submissions about whistleblower protection “to ensure the proper functioning of key institutions, including Sars and law enforcement agencies, and respect and protection for those who come across abuse of power”.

It sought to raise constitutional issues, which Symington didn’t raise in his founding papers and only sought to introduce in his replying affidavit.

Symington’s urgent application to stop his pending hearing and feared dismissal was dismissed in September on various grounds, including that it was impermissible to plea a particular case and then seek to establish a different case in reply.

Judge Hans Fabricius said at the time Symington was inclined to melodrama and should have settled his differences with Sars commissioner Tom Moyane’s bodyguard “with a handshake and a discussion over a beer”.

Symington claimed Moyane had instigated charges against him in revenge for his role in having criminal charges against former finance minister Pravin Gordhan withdrawn.

He also claimed to have been held “hostage” by the Hawks and Moyane’s bodyguard, for refusing to hand over documents relating to his 2009 memorandum which led to the charges against Gordhan being withdrawn.

Sars has denied victimising Symington for being a political whistleblower.

Also read:  Vlok Symington fails to interdict Sars from taking disciplinary action against him

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