Pretoria - President Cyril Ramaphosa’s security adviser Dr Sydney Mufamadi has broken his silence on former State Security Agency (SSA) director-general Arthur Fraser’s demand for his prosecution for alleged perjury.
The former minister insisted that he had no role to play in the matter because it was a dispute between Fraser and the National Prosecution Authority (NPA).
Mufamadi has also refused to weigh in on Fraser’s ultimatum for the NPA to make several arrests in the next seven days in connection with alleged perjury at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
In a letter to the NPA on Friday last week, Fraser gave the prosecuting authority a week to make the arrests and also explain why it had not charged Mufamadi, former SSA acting director-general Loyiso Jafta and two witnesses known as Mr Y and Mr W for perjury.
He opened a case against Mufamadi and others at the Hillbrow Police Station last year but nothing much came out of it. Mufamadi was minister of safety and security in Nelson Mandela’s cabinet.
Fraser, through lawyer Eric Mabuza of Mabuza Attorneys, demanded that the NPA make its decision on whether it would continue with the case. Mabuza said in the letter that his client had not heard from the NPA or received any progress report a year after the case was opened.
Fraser also wanted the NPA to give clarity on whether State Capture Commission’s evidence leader advocate Paul Pretorius SC, and advocate Veruska September would be prosecuted on charges of subornation of perjury.
However, speaking to the Pretoria News yesterday, Mufamadi said it was up to the NPA to decide whether to prosecute him for alleged perjury.
“He (Fraser) has lodged a complaint and so I don’t enter the fray at all. I am not part of the equation from the point of view as to what my opinion would be. My opinion is neither here nor there on the matter.
“Whatever assertions he has, he is not talking to me. If he is discussing the substance of his case, I’d not be the one to listen to his case. You can’t even debate this matter (because it) is in the media, so there is no need for me to comment because the matter does not need me, “ Mufamadi said.
“If you look at that letter you can see who the letter is addressed to. The matter is between the NPA and Mr Fraser. They don’t need me to make a decision here. The NPA needs him because he is the one who has approached them.”
Fraser laid the criminal charges against Mufamadi, saying the former minister lied when he testified that R9 billion had been spent by the SSA when Fraser was at the helm of the intelligence agency.
He accused Mufamadi of ballooning the figure of redundant access from R9 million to R9bn. According to Fraser, Jafta was in on the lie because he confirmed it under oath during his testimony at the same Zondo Commission.
Fraser added that Mufamadi had also lied when he testified that the former spy boss employed his son at a warehouse that was used by the agency as a front company.
In the same letter, Fraser’s lawyers also demanded clarity on the status of the cases opened.
“We are instructed to request you to communicate your decision within seven days on whether Dr Fholisane, Sydney Mufamadi, Mr Loyiso Jafta, as well as secret operatives identified as Ms K and Mr W will be prosecuted on charges of perjury and whether state capture commission’s evidence leader, Paul Pretorius SC and advocate Veruska September, will be prosecuted on charges of subornation of perjury.”
The letter further added that in the event that the NPA declined to prosecute the persons mentioned, they have been instructed to request the nolle prosequi certificate from the NPA as a formal document that states that the authority declines to prosecute. The document is a requirement for any private prosecution.
“In the event that you decline to prosecute any of the above persons, we are instructed to request a nolle prosequi certificate as envisaged under section 7(2)(a) and section 7(2)(b) of the criminal procedure Act 5 of 1977, “ it read.
NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane confirmed that they had received the letter from Fraser’s attorneys but were still tracking the docket.
”Yes we received the letter on Friday evening. So for now we are still trying to trace if that docket was handed over to the office of the deputy director of public prosecutions… and this is because we can’t find it in our filing system so we are checking if SAPS has brought it to us,“ Mjonondwane said yesterday.
Pretoria News