Who is next? That is the question facing those at the centre of allegations of corruption and state capture, following the arrest of former state security minister Bongani Bongo.
The Hawks ended what appeared to be a lengthy slumber last week, bringing charges against Bongo on Thursday and arresting 10 people in connection with alleged corruption in the Amathole district municipality in the Eastern Cape. At the same time, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) won a court order to freeze more than R1bn in assets belonging to Gupta-linked advisory firm Regiments Capital.
The developments have been widely welcomed; frustration had started setting in at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promise of a "new dawn" fading without those accused of corruption and state capture being held to account.
National director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi, just days before the arrests, explained in granular detail the problems that the Hawks and NPA face in the aftermath of the state capture project, which played out during the nine years of Jacob Zuma’s tenure as president.
The problems, she told journalists at a roundtable discussion, include capacity issues brought on by the NPA losing more than 800 prosecutors, and not recruiting to fill positions since 2015/2016.
The capture and destruction of the NPA and the Hawks during the Zuma years have been well documented.
But the FM understands that the momentum that is now building will continue well into the new year.
The move against Bongo has been hailed as the first sign that the wheels of justice are — finally — starting to turn.
A former minister in Zuma’s cabinet — and current chair of parliament’s portfolio committee on home affairs — Bongo is accused of offering a bribe to Ntuthuzelo Vanara, the evidence leader on Eskom in parliament’s 2017 inquiry into corruption at state-owned enterprises. Last week he appeared in the Cape Town magistrate’s court on a charge of corruption.
But Bongo’s was really the second high-profile and politically significant arrest of the year. The first was that of eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede on corruption charges in May, and her subsequent removal from office. In fact, her arrest may be the more significant.
Prior to her arrest, Gumede headed the ANC’s largest region, eThekwini, which wields significant support in both the party’s largest province, KwaZulu-Natal, and nationally. She is facing fraud, corruption and money-laundering charges linked to a R208m Durban solid waste tender, and is out on bail of R50,000.
Together, the arrests are a welcome development for the country and the economy — hopefully some of the loot stolen during the audacious capture of the state can be recovered. But they also have far-reaching ramifications for the country’s politics — and particularly for the ANC.
The so-called fightback faction of the party, associated with ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, is said to be riled by the arrests, viewing them as a breach of the fragile truce with Ramaphosa’s faction since the party’s elective conference at Nasrec in December 2017.
Bongo’s arrest has been perceived as a "warning shot" fired by the faction aligned with Ramaphosa — an attempt to weaken the Magashule group ahead of the ANC’s national general council next year. It’s said that the fightback faction has been plotting to launch an attack on Ramaphosa’s presidency at the midterm policy gathering for some time.
But in looking to blame Ramaphosa for the arrests — and arguing that he has taken a tactic out of Zuma’s playbook by using his government position to weaken his opponents — the fightback group seems to have misread the situation.
Since making key appointments, it’s been clear Ramaphosa has taken a hands-off approach towards the NPA — and the criminal justice system. This is critical, given the executive interference in these institutions during the administrations of both Zuma and Thabo Mbeki.
There is simply no evidence to back up the belief that Ramaphosa is directing the NPA and the Hawks; it’s based on loose and disjointed conspiracy theories.
Take Bongo, for instance. In an interview with eNCA following his arrest, he accused public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan of orchestrating the case against him. His allegations were based on a so-called threat he claimed Gordhan had made against him.
Bongo told the broadcaster that Gordhan had accused him of working with public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in her cases against the minister; he alleged Gordhan then said Bongo would "see what happens" if he continued to work with Mkhwebane.
Gordhan’s spokesperson, Sam Mkokeli, has reportedly responded by saying Bongo was "hallucinating".
Bongo’s defence — and the position taken by the state capture and fightback faction more generally — has been to allege a grand conspiracy, while being reticent to respond directly to the allegations against him.
In Bongo’s case, the allegation is his attempted bribery of an evidence leader — something he hasn’t actually denied, or even responded to. Instead, he’s introduced a red herring by blaming Gordhan.
There’s another — larger — case in the NPA’s sights: the infamous Vrede dairy farm case, which Batohi indicated last week is ready to be re-enrolled in the court system.
Hermione Cronje, head of the crack NPA directorate focusing on state capture and corruption, told journalists that the NPA has obtained all the bank statements relating to the Gupta family’s involvement in the case.
She said forensic investigations have been completed that show where the money came from, who was involved and where it went — virtually down to the last cent. This is after the Vrede case got off to a false start and had to be withdrawn last year.
New movement in the case has potentially explosive political implications, given that it will likely draw in Magashule as former premier of the Free State — and he is essentially the face of internal ANC opposition to Ramaphosa.
For now, the ANC’s integrity commission is set to mull over the Bongo matter. How it proceeds will set a precedent for the body, in the event that charges are brought against the party secretary-general.
The commission’s chair, George Mashamba, tells the FM it will meet on Friday to discuss the arrest of Bongo.
However, leaders sympathetic to the former minister say if the integrity commission is to act against Bongo, it will also have to take action against Gordhan and Ramaphosa himself, given the public protector’s findings against both leaders.
As the NPA gets to grips with state capture, ANC unity will come under further pressure
— What it means:
In one of her reports, Mkhwebane found that Ramaphosa had deliberately misled parliament when he answered a question about a donation from Gavin Watson, the late CEO of African Global Operations (formerly Bosasa), to his campaign for the ANC presidency.
In another matter, the public protector had directed Ramaphosa to discipline Gordhan after finding that the minister had violated the constitution and the executive ethics code in the establishment of a "rogue unit" in the SA Revenue Service.
Both reports are being reviewed by the courts.
It is clear the integrity body continues to be drawn into the factional politics of the ruling party.
While Batohi was coy about the NPA’s prospects last week — saying her philosophy is to "underpromise and overdeliver" so as to manage expectations — it is clear that her agency has finally awoken, and is on the march.
And, as the NPA acts, the ANC will face a critical test of its resolve and commitment to the clean-up that Ramaphosa’s administration has promised the citizens of SA.
The move against Bongo has been hailed as the first sign that the wheels of justice are finally starting to turn
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.