Marais, Malatsi hearing starts

2003-03-17 23:02

Cape Town - After numerous delays, including a nose-bleed and having the charges translated from Afrikaans to English to Ndebele, the NNP's disciplinary hearing against Peter Marais and Peter Malatsi started about 20:00 on Monday.

The first witness to appear was New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk.

The NNP is expected to call two other witnesses - Freddie Adams, the NNP's Western Cape provincial chief secretary, and Dirk Bakker, the party's national legal director.

Counsel for Marais, the former Western Cape premier, indicated that the NNP might propose separating the charges and by implication the hearing, but the party denied this.

The two politicians stand accused of bringing the name of the party into disrepute and face ancillary charges relating to their involvement in the controversial Roodefontein golf estate development.

Both are out on bail of R10 000 following their arrest by the Scorpions in connection with allegations of corruption relating to the golf estate.

Monday and Tuesday have been scheduled for the hearing, said NNP spokesperson Alie van Jaarsveld.

"The atmosphere is not tense... to tell the truth, it is relaxed," he said.

Both Marais and Malatsi, the former deputy social development minister, were present at Monday's session together with their legal teams.

Marais's second eldest daughter, attorney Cheryl Ehrenreich, was also present for the first time to help her father.

Appearing for Marais, Advocate Hugo Rossouw said Malatsi's former secretary Mariaan Meyer was also present and could be called to testify.

It was not immediately apparent when she would testify.

It was earlier speculated that Meyer, who was the co-signatory with Malatsi to the NNP Khayelitsha branch account, could testify against him in favour of Marais.

Malatsi's attorney Richard Dixon said he has fully prepared for the former deputy minister's defence.

"We hope that the matter can be fully ventilated and put behind us."

The disciplinary committee will make a recommendation to the party's federal executive once the hearings are completed.

Marais and Malatsi are entitled to reply in writing within five days of the committee's recommendations.

- SAPA