PARLIAMENTARY BULLETIN

ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS NATIONAL PARTY BLOCKED SOL KERZNER TRIAL

The Transkei Attorney General has accused the National Party of interfering to prevent the trial, for alleged bribery, corruption, fraud and perjury, of hotel and casino magnate Sol Kerzner and his associate, David Bloomberg.

The National Party alleges that a R2m pre-election donation from Sol Kerzner given to the ANC was in exchange for abandoning the bribery charges against Kerzner and Bloomberg. But this month, the Transkei Attorney General, Christo Nel, decisively and publicly dismissed this allegation and put the blame squarely on the National Party's shoulders.

The Facts

Sol Kerzner and David Bloomberg were accused of paying R2m in bribes in December 1986 and January 1987 to the former Transkei premier Chief George Matanzima, in exchange for a gambling monopoly in Transkei. In 1988, Kerzner and Bloomberg admitted the payments to the Harms Commission on cross-border irregularities, but claimed they were subject to undue pressure from Chief Matanzima.

In 1990, the Transkei Attorney General began preparations for extradition against Kerzner and Bloomberg, and forwarded extradition applications to the National Party Government in 1991.

In 1993 the National Party Government refused to extradite Kerzner and Bloomberg, on the grounds that there was no case to answer, and the case was shelved. Following the 1994 elections and the reintegration of Transkei into South Africa, the case has again been taken up by the Transkei Attorney General.

National Party Guilty

This month, the Transkei Attorney General's report into the case against Kerzner and Bloomberg listed a catalogue of failures and deliberate obstruction by the National Party. The Transkei Attorney General's report found that:

• the National Party Government delayed progress for almost two and a half years by dodging the extradition application lodged by the Transkei Attorney General
• the National Party Government tried to kill off the case in 1993, by insisting that there was no case to answer
• the National Party Government prevented the prosecution in Transkei by refusing to extradite Kerzner and Bloomberg, despite the Transkei Attorney General's confidence that there was a case to answer.

The National Party is to blame for the failure to prosecute Kerzner and Bloomberg before 1994.

The ANC has been blamed for the failure to prosecute Kerzner and Bloomberg since 1994. But the Attorney General again laid the blame at the door of the National Party for the delays since the April 1994 elections. He cited:

• the ten-year delay in bringing the case to trial, which means witnesses may now be unclear about their statements, or may no longer be available - one key witness has already died in the interim
• the refusal to extradite Kerzner and Bloomberg in 1993 on the grounds that there was no case to answer, which may make it constitutionally impossible to reinstitute the prosecution
• the point-blank refusal of FW de Klerk to co-operate with the Justice Portfolio Committee's investigation of this matter.

ANC Exonerated

The Attorney General's report concluded that the ANC has made no attempt to interfere in the case against Kerzner and Bloomberg. The facts clearly show that far from hindering progress, the ANC has sought to ensure that justice is being done.

• ANC Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi provided the Attorney General with a new investigating officer so that he could reopen the docket against Kerzner and Bloomberg
• ANC members of the Justice Portfolio Committee took the lead in questioning the Attorney General on the lack of progress in the case
• the ANC-led Justice Portfolio Committee has called for a boost in the Attorney General's staffing levels to speed up the prosecution.

Key Lines

The decision to pursue a prosecution against Kerzner and Bloomberg is a decision for the Attorney General and not for the ANC Government.

While the National Party Government was always interfering with the justice system, the ANC would never seek to interfere with the independence of the judiciary.

While the ANC is seeking to bring forward the prosecution in the public interest, the National Party has dragged its heels for ten years.

While the ANC has prompted a Justice Committee investigation into the delays into the Kerzner prosecution, FW de Klerk refuses to co-operate with it. What has he got to hide?

While the ANC is seeking to get to the bottom of the delays, the National Party still refuses to explain its actions. What has it got to hide?

While the National Party attacks the ANC for accepting a donation from Sol Kerzner, it refuses to come clean about its own funding and relationship with Kerzner. What has it got to hide?