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There is very little prospect that current investigations into “Guptagate” will reveal the truth about President Jacob Zuma and his Cabinet’s role in authorising the landing of private Jet Airways Airbus A330-200, chartered by the Gupta family, at AFB Waterkloof on 30 April 2013.The DA has therefore requested that the Public Protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, investigate “Guptagate”.

The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Jeff Radebe, set the limits of the investigation when he determined that no executive authority had authorised the landing of the aircraft before any investigation had even begun.

The Minister effectively found that President Jacob Zuma and members of his Cabinet were “not guilty” before the “Guptagate” investigation begun.

From the start, the damage control strategy has been to shift the spotlight from politicians to officials such as the Chief of State Protocol, Bruce Koloane.

A task team, comprising of five director-generals, has been appointed to investigate “Guptagate”. However, it is unlikely that task team will investigate the role of President Jacob Zuma or members of his Cabinet. Moreover, it is unlikely that the final report of the task team will be made public.

The DA has therefore requested that the Public Protector investigate:

• Whether President Jacob Zuma played any role in the landing of the Guptas’ chartered Jet Airways Airbus A330-200 at AFB Waterkloof;
• Whether the President was aware, and effectively condoned, the Guptas using his name to strong-arm officials; and
• What role ministers played in the landing of the Guptas’ chartered Jet Airways Airbus A330-200 at AFB Waterkloof.

The ministers were not in the dark and knew that the Guptas had their eye on AFB Waterkloof.

The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, received a request to use AFB Waterkloof. To her credit, she turned down the request.

However, we need to know why her decision was not formally communicated to the Secretary of Defence, Sam Gulube, and the Chief of the South African National Defence Force, General Solly Shoke.

Had she done so, it is very unlikely that the Guptas’ chartered Jet Airways Airbus would have been allowed to land at AFB Waterkloof.

However, government can’t seem to keep the story straight. It has emerged that:

• The landing was in fact authorised by government, despite Justice Minister Jeff Radebe’s initial claim that it was unauthorised;
• Clearance for landing was granted before anyone at DIRCO was informed, despite Defence Minister, Mapisa-Nqakula’s claim that the Waterkloof air command post received information from the state protocol section of DIRCO;
• The request by the Indian High Commission was first made in February, and not April 4 as claimed by Minister Radebe; and
• The Free State Government, led by Zuma-ally Ace Magashule, helped secure permission for the Gupta plane to land at AFB Waterkloof on the pretext that it was an intergovernmental visit.

In the end, the ministers are clearly relying on a “rogue officials defence” to firewall President Jacob Zuma and members of his Cabinet from the political fallout from “Guptagate”.

In the end, we cannot allow President Jacob Zuma and members of his Cabinet to get off the hook by hanging a couple of rogue officials out to dry. We trust that the Public Protector’s investigation will reveal the truth behind the authorisation of the Guptas’ landing at AFB Waterkloof.