De Lille affidavit 'private'

2008-05-09 16:02

Cape Town - A Cape Town regional magistrate on Friday banned the publication of a "Travelgate" affidavit by Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille, following a request by a Scorpions prosecutor.

This came as travel fraud accused African National Congress MP Mnyamezeli Booi renewed his attack on the Scorpions, which he said had exceeded their powers and acted unconstitutionally.

The De Lille affidavit was among papers submitted by Booi, the only "Travelgate" MP who has not taken a plea bargain, in support of an application for his trial to be postponed.

She drew up the affidavit in June 2005, following an interview with investigators four months earlier.

Prosecutor Jannie van Vuuren told Magistrate Michelle Adams on Friday that he noticed members of the media had been given copies of the affidavit.

He told Adams there had been cases recently in which the media were used to "convict somebody", and said that in the statement, De Lille incriminated former Star Travel boss Graham Geduldt, one of a number of travel agents facing trial in the Cape High Court.

He asked, and Adams ordered, that De Lille's statement not be made public until she testified in the High Court case.

Van Vuuren said afterwards that De Lille would probably be called as a witness against Geduldt.

"To disclose her evidence now would seriously prejudice his trial," he said.

Had she not been on the witness list he would not have minded publication of the document.

The affidavit, plus the transcript of the Scorpions interview with De Lille, is apparently part of a package of documents made available by the Scorpions on DVD to all the "Travelgate" accused.

Earlier, Booi's attorney Mario Wilken had told the court that since the Scorpions were being disbanded, the National Prosecuting Authority should look afresh at all the statements and documentation related to the case.

He said De Lille's parliamentary travel vouchers were fraudulently used, yet she was not prosecuted.

However, Van Vuuren said he rejected the allegation of selective prosecution, and that there was no evidence that De Lille had benefited from the fraud.

In an affidavit filed as part of his application for a postponement, Booi said the High Court had postponed the travel agents' case to December this year, despite opposition from the state, so they could obtain an independent forensic report.

There was no reason he should not be granted a postponement on similar grounds, he said.

He also said the Khampepe commission had found that the Scorpions had exceeded their powers and acted unlawfully.

'Peripheral issues'

"Although the commission did not investigate my case specifically it is clear to me that the DSO (the Scorpions) exceeded their powers in the normal exercise of their investigations, and most probably also in the investigation of my matter."

Responding to these claims, Van Vuuren told the court that most of what Booi raised in his application was "peripheral issues" irrelevant to his application.

He said any unfairness in the conduct of the investigation should be dealt with in the trial itself.

Booi had provided no substantiation for his accusations that the Scorpions acted unlawfully.

Adams is to rule on the postponement application on Monday.

- SAPA