Charges against Wouter Basson dropped

Apartheid government chemical and biological warfare chief Dr Wouter Basson has scored another victory when the Health Professions' Council withdrew two of the six charges of unethical conduct against him.

Basson - who was acquitted in 2002 of 46 criminal charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud and drug offences - faces being struck from the roll of medical practitioners for the second time.

His defence was taken by surprise yesterday when the council's prosecution dropped the bombshell that it did not intend continuing with charges of unethical conduct relating to the manufacture of incapacitating drugs such as methaqualone (also known as mandrax) and ecstasy, as well as tear gas, and testing them on members of the defence force and police in the 1980s.

According to the charge sheet, these tests were performed without regard for medical research guidelines.

The other charge pulled from the Cape Town cardiologist's charge sheet related to his taking the job of leading the SA Defence Force's covert chemical and biological warfare research programme, Project Coast.

The prosecution, led by advocate Salie Joubert, said it had no evidence to support the charges that Basson tested drugs on members of the defence force and police because there were no known victims.

"For instance, we do not have proof that these drugs were tested on humans, but we are of the view that the remaining charges relate to serious [ethical] contraventions and there are good chances of getting a conviction," said Joubert.

The charge relating to Basson's acceptance of the job was simply "background" and was removed from the charge sheet, he said.

The remaining charges of unethical conduct against Basson relate to the establishment for the defence force of a secret chemical warfare research laboratory known as Delta G, where incapacitating drugs and tear gas were manufactured on a large scale, as well as the filling with tear gas of thousands of 120mm mortar shells that were sent to Jonas Savimbi, leader of Unita, which the apartheid government supported in the Angolan civil war.

Basson is also accused of providing tranquillisers to the defence force for cross-border kidnappings, and with providing covert operatives with cyanide capsules. According to the transcripts of Basson's criminal trial, the operatives were to use the capsules to commit suicide if they were in danger of being captured.

He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Despite Basson's acquittal in the Pretoria High Court nine years ago, the Health Professions' Council brought charges of unethical conduct against him in 2007.

In 2008, Basson approached the Pretoria High Court to block the hearing against him, saying the Health Professions Council was biased and would go to any lengths to find him guilty of unprofessional conduct.

Last year, the high court dismissed his application, and his bid to have the council interdicted from investigating him. The council resumed its hearing yesterday.

Earlier in the day, Dr Ben Steyn, the military doctor who took over Project Coast from Basson in 1993, was called to testify on his 2008 application to the Health Professions' Council for permission to conduct a pilot chemical research programme for the defence force.

Steyn's in-camera testimony, which was expected to take about an hour, lasted only a few minutes.

According to the council's general manager for legal services, Tshepo Boikanyo, Steyn said he needed to seek legal advice, and the permission of his superiors to testify.

Basson's legal team, led by Jaap Cilliers SC - who successfully defended Basson at his criminal trial - had earlier been granted access to Steyn's classified letter to the Health Professions Council in which he applied for permission to conduct the pilot study, as well as the council's resolution on the application, and other correspondence between Steyn and the council.

Joubert said Cilliers' application for access to the documents was unnecessary and would prolong the hearing. He said the documents had no bearing on Basson's case because it related to a period long before Steyn's application.

But Cilliers submitted that access to these documents was "extremely" important for Basson's defence and for the committee to make a proper finding.

The committee is chaired by Jannie Hugo, assisted by professor Eddie Mhlanga and retired judge Frikkie Eloff.

Talking to journalists during an adjournment, Basson said he had closed that chapter of his life 20 years ago and that the inquiry was impeding his attempts to build a reputable practice.

"I cannot wait for this matter to be put to rest so that I can continue with my life and assist thousands of people I am helping in my practice," he said.

Basson conceded that he had developed chemicals for the apartheid regime but said these had never been used.

"If there were victims, I would be in jail now," he said.