Conflicted John Hlophe hears corruption trial of former minister of state security Bongani Bongo

Bongani Bongo has been charged with attempting to bribe advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara, evidence leader of a 2017 parliamentary public enterprises committee inquiry into State Capture at Eskom, to derail the inquiry.

Bongo has pleaded not guilty to a charge that he had told Vanara to “name his price” to co-operate with the scheme to scupper the inquiry. The alleged attempted bribery took place a week before Zuma appointed Bongo state security minister.

Why we will be watching is because the JSC is yet to hand down its findings after a December tribunal on Hlophe’s alleged attempt to influence Constitutional Court judges in 2008 to rule in favour of Jacob Zuma.

Hlophe compared himself with Zuma, according to testimony in that matter, saying both were victims of nefarious plots and shady agendas.

Hlophe’s legal representative, Barnabas Xulu — who is in a spot of bother with the state at present over R20-million it is seeking to recover — in fact, helped set up the Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust.

Bongani Bongo has been named at the State Capture Commission as one of Zuma’s ministers of state security who oversaw the looting of the State Security Agency (SSA) secret fund during Zuma’s presidency.

Matters of Hlophe’s impartiality in this matter are therefore of critical importance given the circumstances surrounding both men and their alleged proximity or loyalty to Zuma, who has now challenged the country’s constitutional order.

Also, this matter is being heard in a week when many threads in the Zuma network come together in various courts and commissions, including a request by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo this week for the Constitutional Court to order Zuma’s arrest on charges of contempt.

On Monday Vanara testified that he had feared for his life after receiving calls from Bongo three times in October 2017 as he was preparing to meet and interview acting Eskom board chair Zethembe Khoza.

The evidence leader was hoping to discuss with Khoza “issues” which had arisen as a result of the #GuptaLeaks.

Bongo had later met with Vanara in Cape Town, claiming to have been sent by Khoza on behalf of the Eskom board. 

By then Vanara had seen the mounds of evidence pointing to massive corruption and understood the weight of the matter. 

He told the court he had reported the approach by Bongo to acting Secretary of Parliament Penelope Tyawa who had advised Vanara to submit a report, which he did on 26 October 2017.

Bongo’s legal representative, Michael Hellens, went in expectedly low during cross-examination of Vanara, alleging that some previous domestic abuse issue had been discussed with Bongo during their meeting in Vanara’s parliamentary office.

Hellens said Bongo would tell the court that Vanara had told him he had been involved in a domestic issue with his wife and that he had asked Bongo to “help with that”. In other words, expunge a criminal record.

Vanara outright denied that he had had any conversation with Bongo about his wife and said that while his wife had opened a case against him in 2014 for pushing her after watching a World Cup Soccer match, this had been mediated and settled.

How would Bongo have known this, suggested Hellens, unless Vanara had told him, to which Vanara replied that as minister of state security, Bongo had access to anyone’s criminal history. 

There was no reason for him, said Vanara, to “go” to Bongo with this issue, suggesting Hellens had tossed it in as a curveball.

Hellens said that Bongo’s argument would be that there was a “political agenda” against him and that it would suit “one part of the governing party for Mr Bongo to be in trouble”.

This is bound to be an argument that will ring a bell with Hlophe as the Judge President has publicly maintained for years that his ongoing troubles with the JSC are also part of a political agenda by individuals out to destroy him.

Will political agendas find common ground in South African law as the last screams and gasps of the Zuma era can be heard?

The matter has been postponed to Friday, 19 February. DM