Lack of results: Ajay and Atul Gupta flew out of South Africa to Dubai with his brother Rajesh and his family two days after then-president Jacob Zuma stepped down from office. (Photo: Gallo Images/BusinessDay/Martin Rose)
South Africa continues to make efforts to extradite brothers Atul and Rajesh Gupta from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is also fielding dozens of requests from around the world for the extradition of wanted criminals.
“We remain committed to implementing treaty and extradition obligations to ensure that justice is achieved in all relevant cases,” Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Thembisile Simelane-Nkadimeng told a press conference on Friday.
She added that recent developments include “ongoing efforts” to extradite the Gupta brothers from the UAE, as well as Shepherd Bushiri and his wife, who are fugitives from Malawi.
She said police were awaiting a ruling on the main extradition application case involving suspects Siyabonga and Malusi Ndimande of Eswatini in the case of slain rapper Keenan Forbes, popularly known as AKA.
Attorney-General Dr Mashabane visited the UAE just before the May 29 elections and said he discussed Gupta's extradition with officials from the country's justice ministry.
The Gupta brothers are wanted in connection with the findings of the State Capture Commission, which implicated them in corruption and had close ties to former president Jacob Zuma. The brothers, who deny the charges, fled to the UAE, where they were arrested in June last year and extradition negotiations began. However, the UAE rejected South Africa's extradition request on technical grounds.
“As it stands, the UAE's position is that the extradition request must be resubmitted and that position has not changed since a UAE court ruled in April last year that our request was improper,” Mashabane said on Friday.
“As a central authority, we will finalise the process based on what the NPA is doing. [National Prosecuting Authority] Based on the information presented to us, the NPA's position so far has been that they need to understand what went wrong with the previous application and what was not provided by the UAE.
“As it stands, we have not made a new application as we have not received any feedback from the UAE as to what went wrong with the previous application. However, although they said they had attached an arrest warrant which has now been cancelled, there is also a valid arrest warrant attached and we have informed the UAE of that. We have been in that situation ever since.”
He said further information was needed on whether the NPA would agree with the UAE's view that South Africa must file a new extradition application.
Simelane Nkadimeng said South Africa was processing “at least 40” extradition applications and mutual assistance requests from countries including Singapore, the Netherlands, Namibia and Botswana.
Speaking at the same press conference, NPA director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi refused to provide details about the status of the VBS investigation, which allegedly involves EFF leader Julius Malema and his deputy leader, Floyd Shivambu, who has since left the party.
“I cannot talk about the investigation. In fact, it is very unfortunate that the affidavit in the VBS case was leaked to the press,” Batohi said.
“I urge media outlets to allow law enforcement to do their job and we continue to investigate alongside the DPCI. [Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation] It is leading the charge and we are working with the DPCI on a prosecutor-led model and the investigation is progressing.”
Minister Simelane-Nkadimeng was providing an update on the Government's payment of compensation claims to injured victims and families of workers killed in the Marikana massacre, which took place on 16 August 2012, when police opened fire during a field strike at the Lonmin platinum mine near Rustenburg, killing 34 miners.
“To date, approximately R352 million has been paid in Marikana-related claims, reflecting our ongoing efforts to ensure that those affected receive the compensation they are justly entitled to,” she said.
“Beneficiaries include the families of the 34 miners who lost their lives, injured miners and arrested miners. Each case was assessed individually to ensure that compensation was in line with the legal framework and court directions.”
She said her department had resolved most aspects of the Marikana case except for constitutional damages, which are currently being heard in the Gauteng High Court.
Simelane Nkadimeng said President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday signed a proclamation implementing the NPA Amendment Act, except for section eight.
“Establishment of the Corruption Investigation Bureau [Idac] “The establishment of Idac as a permanent body within the National Prosecuting Authority marks an important milestone in the fight against corruption. Unlike previous investigative bureaus which could be dissolved by decree, Idac's permanent status will ensure its independence and necessary parliamentary oversight. It will also give Idac criminal investigative powers,” she said.
“This will strengthen our capacity to fight complex corruption, implement the decisions of the Commission of Inquiry and uphold the recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into allegations of state capture, corruption and public sector fraud.”
Simelane Nkadimeng said regulations to support Idac's activities would be published on August 19, adding: “We are finalising regulations under section 8 which will enable us to appoint a retired judge to monitor complaints about Idac investigators.”
The justice minister said her ministry was involved in the development of a national anti-corruption strategy, which included the establishment of anti-corruption forums in the health sector, local government and infrastructure construction led by the Special Investigative Unit (SIU).
A “robust turnaround strategy” was also underway within the State Attorney's Office to address allegations of fraud, misconduct and corruption identified by the SIU.
Simelane Nkadimeng said the special tribunal, which was set up in 2019, has so far recovered an estimated R15 billion for the country from perpetrators of corrupt acts.
