Loophole may let Mashatile, Shilowa off hook
Loopholes in anti-corruption laws may see efforts to bring charges against Gauteng Premier Paul Mashatile and his predecessor, Mbhazima Shilowa, for failing to report fraudulent activity by disgraced ANC spokesperson Carl Niehaus come to nothing, suggests a Cape Times report.
It says the Independent Democrats have filed a complaint with police against Niehaus, and the DA is to file a complaint against him in Johannesburg today. The party is to cite Mashatile, Shilowa and businessman Pierre Swart in doing so. The charges relate to Niehaus' admission that he forged the signatures of four Gauteng MECs to try to secure Swart's company preferential treatment in the sale, rental or lease of government buildings, in exchange for a loan. The DA leader in the Gauteng legislature, Jack Bloom, said the complaints would be filed under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. Section 34 of the Act makes it an offence not to report suspected corruption if it involves more than R100 000. But Derek Luyt, of the Public Service Accountability Monitor, said while forging signatures was an act of fraud, there was no fixed amount of money involved in what Niehaus had tried to do.
Full Cape Times report (subscription needed)
Niehaus' legal woes are set to continue today with an application to evict him from the Midrand home he is renting. According to a Beeld report, the landlord will bring the application in the Johannesburg High Court today. Jannie Coetzee, the landlord's lawyer, told The Times last night that a sheriff had arrived at his client's R5m mansion with an order to attach Niehaus' belongings. 'The order against Niehaus was made by a company from which he had borrowed money. When we found out that possessions were being moved, we went to tell them that Niehaus was renting a furnished property,' Coetzee said. After negotiations, only Niehaus' possessions - bedding and beds among others - were removed. Niehaus allegedly owes R344 000 in rent.
Full Beeld report
Full report in The Times
It emerged yesterday that Niehaus is also lying about his academic qualifications, a Beeld report says. Apart from the fraud charges laid against the former ANC spokesperson, he now has to explain his claim that he holds a doctorate degree in theology from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Niehaus claims to hold a doctorate summa cum laude on his CV, but the university said yesterday he did not obtain the degree in the years he served as ambassador in The Hague as he claims.
Full Beeld report