Newscenter Media News Three years after a then opposition Member of Parliament (MP) took it on himself to initiate a criminal case in connection with a corrupt and fraudulent tender for a Cuban prophylactic during the COVID-19 pandemic, what is termed “significant pressure” has led to investigations by the Hawks and SIU (Special Investigating Unit).
In June 2022, Kobus Marais, then a Democratic Alliance (DA) MP tasked with defence and military veterans’ oversight, went to the Worcester police station armed with an affidavit and memory stick. The contents related entirely to the reported R250 million plus acquisition by the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) of an unregistered Cuban drug – Heberon – for use by military personnel during the pandemic lockdown.
Nicholas Gotsell, named as a DA National Council of Provinces (NCOP) MP after last June’s national and provincial elections, maintains in a statement “significant pressure” by his party was integral to the investigation being resuscitated. The Hawks, officially the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DCPI) under the leadership of Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, and Advocate Andy Mothibi’s SIU, are, according to Gotsell, “proceeding” with the investigation.
“Statements were taken in person this week (2 to 6 June) to support the charges brought by the DA in 2022,” a DA statement has him saying.
It continues: “Because the criminal investigation had gone dead, the DA used Parliamentary Questions to the Minister of Police [Senzo Mchunu] to prompt him on the delay in the investigation and wrote letters to the Minister. Following this intervention the criminal investigation has been revived”.
“The DA will now push for concrete timelines for the full investigation of this case and our expectation is it will be handed over for prosecution. Those responsible for the SANDF Cuban COVID-19 looting spree under the guise of a public health emergency must be held to account – no matter their rank or political connection.”
Gotsell is confident this one will not go away thanks to a proposal approved by Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD). The proposal will see all Hawks and SIU investigations into corruption and maladministration in the SANDF – including the Heberon acquisition – reported on quarterly. The committee supported this proposal, marking a critical step in restoring transparency and oversight in historic defence misspending, he is quoted as saying.
Another SIU investigation result made public in May saw a former Department of Defence (DoD) “official” denied pension pay-out access for involvement in “serious procurement irregularities”. It was one outcome of an ongoing SIU investigation – authorised by Presidential proclamation (R23 of 2020) – into uncovered irregularities in PPE procurement valued at close on R278 million.
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