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Just
ice and Constitutional Development Minister Penuel Maduna says
the report of the Hefer Commission into spy allegations against the
National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka would soon
be made public.
Retired Judge Joos Hefer, who headed the commission, handed over
his 62-page report to Minister Maduna in Pretoria today.
The minister will present the report, anxiously awaited by many
people, to President Thabo Mbeki, within the next 24 hours. He said
the report may then be made available to the public within two
weeks after the President has read it and applied his mind on the
findings.
Maduna said the report, like similar ones that came before it,
would be made public since "the matter was of public
interest".
"There had to be serious, sounder reasons if the President
was not going to make it public..." he said adding that "so far the
President has not hidden, from the public, any commission's
report". The minister said it was nonetheless President Mbeki's
call to decide whether to avail the report to the public or not.
"It will be up to the President to make whatever necessary
decisions," he asserted.
President Mbeki set-up the commission last year following a news
report by City Press, backed by foreign affairs special adviser Mo
Shaik and former transport minister Mac Maharaj, that Ngcuka may
have been an apartheid spy and as a result abused his powers.
The claims saw scores of witnesses, including Mr Ngcuka's main
accusers, appear before the Hefer Commission, which conducted its
hearing in Bloemfontein towards the end of last year.
The thin-looking report contains only factual findings and Judge
Hefer said it was "easy" to compile and it contained "no
surprises". He dismissed suggestions that allegations were part of
an internal fight in the ruling party and should not have come to
the commission.
"We are dealing here with a person who is in charge of all the
public prosecutions on behalf of the State in the country...any
allegations that are made which impact on performing his duties and
the very question that he is abusing his powers, I cannot see it
been disposed in any other way than by way of a public inquiry,"
said Judge Hefer. –BuaNews.
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