Africa-Press – South-Africa. Civic organisation Defend Our Democracy has lambasted the State for failing to clamp down on corruption in the Nulane state capture case, which ended on Friday in the Free State High Court.
The Nulane Investment’s matter was the first “state capture” related case to be taken to trial by the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigative Directorate.
It ended in humiliation – with a judge finding that all the accused should be summarily acquitted because of the lack of evidence against them.
Free State High Court Judge Nompumelelo Gusha on Friday ruled that the State had failed to produce enough evidence to show that the Gupta family and their associates were implicated in the alleged laundering of R24.9 million of the proceeds of the alleged Nulane fraud.
She said she knew her decision would “invoke a sense of loss, if not dejection, to the citizenry of this country”.
Gusha also added that the State’s financial expert witnesses had sounded the “death knell” for its case when they admitted that they had made mistakes in their assessment of the Gupta network’s finances and conceded that there was nothing untoward about its money transfers.
“We are extremely disappointed in the manner in which the case was seemingly handled,” the organisation said in a statement.
It noted Gusha’s stating the “audacious manner in which this matter was investigated is truly to be lamented”.
News24 previously reported that weeks after the Dubai Appeal Court declined to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta to face trial in South Africa, the Free State High Court slammed the State for failing to produce any evidence that the family’s network was implicated in money laundering.
“At the risk of repetition, to say that the manner in which the investigation was conducted is a comedy of errors would be the understatement of the millennia,” Gusha said.
Defend Our Democracy spokesperson Nonkululeko Mntambo said the judge’s comments about the handling of the case stand in stark contrast to statements by NPA head Shamila Batohi in 2019, who emphasised the need for watertight cases to rebuild the credibility of the prosecuting authority.
The NPA says that the Nulane case has no bearing on its ability to prosecute state capture-related matters in future.
“It is unfortunate that it has not recognised that its failure to secure a conviction in the Nulane case, sends a very different message to the South African public about the state’s capability to effectively deal with other corruption and capture related cases,” Mntambo said.
“This comes shortly after the United Arab Emirates refused SA’s extradition request for the Guptas, adds to the growing loss of confidence by the public about the ‘big fish’ implicated in state capture and corruption ever being held accountable.”
Defend Our Democracy said it will be joining the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Corruption Watch, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse and members of the public on 27 April outside the UAE Embassy in Tshwane, expressing outrage at the Guptas being let off the hook.
“Our message to the South African government, the police, and the NPA, is simply buck up and do your work properly. We can longer afford excuses. Our country cannot lose the fight against corruption and state capture,” Mntambo added.
Speaking through their lawyers, the Gupta family said that they welcomed the acquittal in the High Court.
“Justice was done,” they stated.
“Of importance to note is that the court severely criticised the investigation done by state bodies. Had the investigation been done properly, no charges would have been brought in the first place.”It is lamentable that people’s lives can be so disrupted by such a poor investigation and such poor decisions,” the family said.
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