Nel, Steenhuisen want renowned Advocate Pretorius to help ID with State capture cases
Pistorius was one of the evidence leaders in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
State Capture Commission head of legal team Advocate Paul Pretorius in studio with Bongani Bingwa. Picture: Karabo Tebele/702
CAPE TOWN - Deputy Justice Minister Andries Nel and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen have come out to bat for renowned Advocate Paul Pretorius to assist the Investigative Directorate in bringing state capture cases to court.
This came after the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) on Tuesday said it rejected his appointment.
Pretorius was one of the evidence leaders in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
But the MK Party said it was nothing more than political theatre.
The MK Party’s Sibonelo Nomvalo said Pretorius presided over hearsay, speculation and untested allegations in the state capture inquiry, which don’t meet prosecutorial standards.
“You can’t be the evidence leader, the narrator and the prosecutor of the same claims. The lines between the law and the political agenda are being blurred.”
But Steenhuisen said the MK Party is running scared.
“Not only are they a party of corruption, but they are a party of state capture. And many of the state capturists sit in their benches.”
Nel moved to set the record straight, saying Pretorius would be appointed as a strategic advisor to the Investigating Directorate, given his knowledge of the evidence.
“He’s not being appointed as a prosecutor in any of those matters, and accordingly, the question of a conflict of interest does not arise.”
Nel appealed to Members of Parliament (MPs) to back the anti-corruption campaign despite the fightback by those implicated.