NPA and Jacob Zuma Foundation fail to act despite a damning ruling against Dudu Myeni

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has thus far turned a blind eye to a judge’s instruction for the agency to probe criminal conduct by former SAA chairperson Dudu Myeni. Judge Ronel Tolmay ordered in her ruling handed down on 27 May that her judgment and the evidence led in the case should be referred to the NPA to probe for criminal conduct.

Three months after Tolmay’s ruling, NPA spokesperson Sipho Ngwenya stated on 17 August that it had made no progress in meeting the judge’s order because it had not received the judgment from Tolmay’s secretary, who delivered it on 18 August.

But Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) spokesperson Samantha van Nispen said that the NPA had had Outa’s evidence about the matter since July 2019. Outa and the SAA Pilots’ Association (Saapa) brought the case against Myeni in 2017 on account of her destructive SAA reign.

Despite the ruling, Myeni remains executive chairperson of the Jacob G Zuma Foundation, which ignored a letter from Outa in June calling for her dismissal. 

Delinquent director for life 

In her ruling, Tolmay declared Myeni a delinquent director for life. In December 2012 she became acting SAA chairperson, and from January 2015 to October 2017 she was chairperson.

Tolmay wrote that there were multiple grounds for Myeni’s delinquency as a director of SAA. The judge found Myeni was dishonest, grossly abused her power, grossly negligent, reckless and her action inflicted substantial harm on SAA. “She was a director gone rogue,” the judge wrote.

Myeni filed a leave to appeal application against the judgment on 18 June. She argued that the judge erred in interpreting the Companies Act. Outa and Saapa on 23 June filed a notice in opposition to the leave to appeal application. 

NPA under fire 

The NPA has been under fire for failing to investigate and charge those that face allegations of corruption, especially inaction related to the politically connected. Frustration is building up and last month opposition members of Parliament criticised the NPA’s tardy prosecution of those allegedly responsible for crime and corruption.

Adding to this are allegations of corruption levelled against Myeni at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture. Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage on 16 July 2019 wrote a letter to NPA national director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi where he reported suspicions of criminality at SAA to the agency.

Brigadier Burger of the NPA acknowledged receipt on 23 July 2019, of the letter and two files of evidence from Outa. 

NPA battles for Myeni answers 

Over a two-week period in August 2020, the NPA’s Ngwenya battled to supply answers to questions sent to him by Daily Maverick about Tolmay’s order and the agency’s response. He then stated that he was “struggling to extract a response” from the North Gauteng director of public prosecutions, advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi.

On August 17, Ngwenya said that the clerk of the North Gauteng High Court had to hand over the judgment to the NPA before the agency could review it. The set of questions that Daily Maverick sent Ngwenya included a link to Tolmay’s full 114-page judgment, which is a matter of public record. 

‘Mind-boggling response from the NPA 

Van Nispen said that the NPA’s response to the ruling against Myeni was “mind-boggling”.

“We hope that the NPA gets their house in order. Outa is getting impatient with the lack of action,” she added, saying that Outa was weighing its options.

“Maybe the NPA should give these cases to civil society to prosecute?” she said.

Tolmay’s secretary Karen Erlank on 18 August emailed a copy of the judgment to NPA deputy director of public prosecutions Trish Matzhe, who acknowledged receipt.

Van Nispen said that Outa had provided NPA deputy national director of public prosecutions Rodney De Knock with the court documents on August 19. De Kock acknowledged receipt of these documents.

In a follow-up response on August 27, the NPA’s Ngwenya said that the agency’s review of the judgment against Myeni might be included in a probe of corruption at SAA. Ngwenya did not respond to an email seeking confirmation that the agency had received the judgment, court papers and Outa’s evidence by the time Daily Maverick published this story.

Myeni, in a statement on May 28, said that she committed no crime to warrant NPA prosecution, according to the IOL website.

After the issuing of the ruling, Outa head of legal affairs Stefanie Fick wrote to the Jacob G Zuma Foundation calling for Myeni to relinquish her role as the executive chairperson. “The foundation didn’t respond,” Fick said. 

Former President Jacob Zuma and former SAA chairperson Dudu Myeni. (Photo: Flickr / GCIS)