ANC not for judge in arms deal probe

By M. S. Prabhakara

CAPE TOWN, JAN. 13. The African National Congress has come out against Mr. Justice Willem Heath becoming part of the investigating team probing allegations of corruption in the Rand 43-billion arms deal.

In a radio interview, the ANC's Head of Presidency, Mr. Smuts Ngonyama, said Mr. Heath was ``blackmailing'' the Government to secure his inclusion in the probe.

He accused Mr. Heath of arrogance and of considering himself as ``above the Government''. ``We do not want Heath in the probe'', Mr. Ngonyama said and added that the ANC would lobby against his inclusion.

This is the first time that a senior ANC functionary has openly come out against the inclusion of Mr. Heath in the inquiry.

However, Mr. Ngonyama said nothing about the ANC being opposed to the inclusion of the Special Investigation Unit, of which Mr. Heath is the head.

In the unanimous ruling of the Constitutional Court that Mr. Heath as a sitting judge should not be heading the SIU, the President of the Constitutional Court, Mr. Justice Arthur Chaskalson, said: ``I accept that it is important that the head of the unit should be a person of integrity. But judges are not the only persons with that attribute.''

However, insofar as media projections - and Mr. Heath's own posturings - go, he and only he can unearth corruption.

Hence, Mr. Heath's larger than life image in the media, transcending the structure created by legislation, and as whose head he was appointed by a democratically elected Government.

This has also created the personality cult and the consistently pressed view that only Mr. Heath's participation in the probe can ensure that everything is above board in the arms deal.

Indications are that Mr. Heath, whose position as a serving judge made his appointment to head the SIU being ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, will be replaced, but the SIU as a structure which is invested with special powers and has developed special skills of investigation will be associated with the probe.

It would be interesting to see how the Opposition (and the media) will react to such a development.

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Section  : International
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