Abrahams met Zuma and three ministers before move to charge Gordhan

23 October 2016 - 02:02 By QAANITAH HUNTER and THANDUXOLO JIKA
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Chief prosecutor Shaun Abrahams met President Jacob Zuma and three cabinet ministers behind closed doors at the ANC's headquarters a day before announcing his decision to charge Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan with fraud.

Abrahams and Zuma this week denied that possible charges against Gordhan or any other person were discussed at their Luthuli House meeting.

In response to a question about the meeting, Abrahams, whose job as the head of the National Prosecuting Authority demands he be independent of any political influence, said he went to the ANC's headquarters at the invitation of Justice Minister Michael Masutha.

"I was, however, at Luthuli House [on] Monday afternoon at the request of the minister of justice and correctional services, where I attended a meeting relating to the state of anarchy as a direct result of the violent student unrest ... with, inter alia, the minister of justice, minister of state security, minister of social development and the president," Abrahams said in an e-mailed response.

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Bongani Ngqulunga, Zuma's spokesman, confirmed the meeting but said the president had not invited Abrahams.

"President Zuma called some ministers to provide him with updates on the security situation at university campuses. The president was keen to be briefed on what was being done to protect security staff, students and property during the protests," he said.

Ngqulunga did not respond to questions about Abrahams's presence and whether this did not put the chief prosecutor's independence into question.

The meeting, also attended by Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini, State Security Minister David Mahlobo and Masutha, took place on October 10, hours before Zuma flew to Kenya on a state visit.

Luthuli House insiders say news of Gordhan's pending charges reached the ANC headquarters on the same day Abrahams visited the building.

The next day, Abrahams announced the NPA would charge Gordhan with fraud relating to his giving early retirement to former South African Revenue Service deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay.

Two days later, the NPA charged EFF leader Julius Malema with incitement to violence for statements he made in 2014, and student leader Mcebo Dlamini on charges related to the ongoing protest at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Ngqulunga said these cases were not discussed.

"The meeting did not discuss the prosecution of the minister of finance, the EFF leader nor did it discuss the prosecution of any student," Ngqulunga said.

block_quotes_start It is highly undesirable that he went to a political party's offices. It then explains the mess around the charge block_quotes_end

Abrahams, through his spokesman, Luvuyo Mfaku, concurred with Ngqulunga: "The matter relating to the minister of finance, Mr [Oupa] Magashula and Mr Pillay was not the subject of the meeting."

It is unclear why, if this was a government meeting, it was held at Luthuli House.

The absence of police representatives and Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande, whose departments are at the coalface of the university education crisis, made the meeting even more bizarre.

Harold Maloka, Nzimande's spokesman, referred questions to the ANC.

A senior government official in the security cluster said Abrahams's presence at Luthuli House was improper.

"It is highly undesirable that he went to a political party's offices. It then explains the mess around the charges.

"He said at the press conference he had communicated with the justice minister to tell the president that he would be charging Gordhan.

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"But it is unlikely he wouldn't discuss such a big charge if he was in the same room with the president," said the official.

The meeting may also explain the rush to charge Gordhan even though his lawyers indicated in a letter to Abrahams they were willing to make representations in August.

Further making the Luthuli House meeting controversial is the fact that Zuma remains a potential accused in his corruption case since the High Court in Pretoria ruled that Abrahams and the NPA should reinstate corruption charges against the president.

Zuma has challenged the high court ruling at the Supreme Court of Appeal.

It is unclear why Abrahams was present when acting national police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane, the operational head in charge of stabilising universities, was absent.

Mfaku did not answer questions about whether Abrahams's presence compromised his independence. He also did not explain Abrahams's role or whether he discussed the prosecution of student leaders before their arrests.

Lumka Oliphant, Dlamini's spokeswoman, said the minister attended as acting defence minister. She said Dlamini briefed the president about the situation at tertiary institutions as chairwoman of the justice and crime prevention cluster.

Masutha did not respond to written questions.

hunterq@sundaytimes.co.za, jikat@sundaytimes.co.za

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