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Desp
ite objections, the opening submissions of Mac Maharaj and Mo
Shaik before the Hefer Commission of Inquiry were postponed
yesterday to November 17.
The two men's advocate, Stephen Joseph SC, asked Judge Joos Hefer
for the postponement, saying it was needed to obtain apartheid-era
documents to support their testimony.
These were files held by the apartheid government's security branch
on various organisations considered a security risk, Joseph
said.
Among the specified files were reports given by various apartheid
security officers.
Lawyers for National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani
Ngcuka and Justice Minister Penuell Maduna accused Maharaj and
Shaik of being on a "fishing expedition" to substantiate their
earlier allegations.
Maharaj and Shaik made several public statements in the past few
weeks alleging that Ngcuka had been investigated by the African
National Congress for being an apartheid spy.
These allegations triggered the Hefer Commission, who must
investigate whether Ngcuka was an apartheid spy and whether he and
Maduna abused their official powers.
Advocate Marumo Moerane SC, for Ngcuka and his National Prosecuting
Authority, said they did not understand the postponement request at
all, "except if it was a ruse to avoid giving evidence to the
commission.
"All along they (Maharaj and Shaik) were prepared to tell anyone
who would listen there was confirmation that my client was a spy,"
Moerane said.
"According to our knowledge, they had the documents prepared to
give to the press".
Joseph insisted that the documents were relevant to the
investigation. The postponement should be granted because "whatever
harm there was to be done, has already been done", he said.
When asked by Hefer why they required the documentation only now,
after making several public statements, Joseph said he could not
answer "spontaneously".
The judge ruled that all would be in a better position to assist in
the investigation if the particular documents were in possession of
all the parties.
He said thus far the commission had no documents to prove whether
Ngcuka was an apartheid spy or not.
Commission secretary John Bacon afterwards confirmed that Joseph
had submitted to the commission a seven-page-long list of documents
to be obtained. – Sapa.
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