Who was African National Congress (ANC) deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte’s target audience when she claimed that Tony Yengeni had done nothing wrong and had received a raw deal by having to serve time in jail?
The Sunday Times reported that Duarte said Yengeni’s conviction for fraud worried her and many others in the ANC as there was nothing wrong with negotiating a discount on a vehicle – and that his only fault was not declaring it to parliament.
Yengeni was found guilty in 2003 of negotiating a nearly 50% discount on a luxury 4x4 from DaimlerChrysler. At the time, the company was linked to the controversial arms deal – and Yengeni was chair of parliament’s defence portfolio committee.
Duarte made her comments to defend the ANC’s decision to assign Yengeni the position of chairperson of a working group on corruption for the party’s election manifesto workshop last week.
At a time when the ANC is seeking to rehabilitate itself from scandal and corruption and eager to rebuild public trust ahead of next year’s elections, you have to wonder who Duarte’s message was aimed at.
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