Haiti case may go to Ngcuka
2004-03-24 16:22
Cape Town - The official opposition Democratic Alliance may put the issue of the deployment to Haiti of a South African Air Force Boeing 707 in the hands of the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Bulelani Ngcuka - if no response to queries is forthcoming from President Thabo Mbeki.
In a statement on Wednesday, DA leader Tony Leon said: "Up until this date the Presidency has thrown down a veil of secrecy over the deployment of a South African Air Force Boeing 707 to transport arms, and other material, to Haiti."
The aircraft - kitted with crowd control equipment - was deployed shortly before the president Jean Bertrand Aristide left the country.
Leon said: "It appears to us, after considering legal advice, and counsel's opinion, that the President had no power to authorise the employment of the Defence Force to export arms to Haiti. Section 201(2) of the Constitution (Act 108 of 1996) read together with Section 18 of the Defence Act (Act 42 of 2002) empowers the president to authorise the employment of the Defence Force in very limited and defined circumstances.
"We are advised that President Mbeki did not have the power to employ the Defence Force under these circumstances.
"There also appeared to have been contraventions of the provisions of the National Conventional Arms Control Act (Act 41. of 2002), which may well amount to a serious offence under the Act."
Leon said he had written - on Wednesday - to Mbeki asking him for a full "and urgent explanation", with supporting documentation, of the following issues: under what legal authority was the defence force involvement authorised, whether the decision to involve the defence was approved by cabinet, whether the decision was put in writing by the president and whether the decision was counter-signed by another member of cabinet.
Leon also wanted to know who was on the aircraft and what was the mission of the defence force and what was the intended duration of the mission.
Leon said further: "If a copy of the permit and end user certificate is not furnished to us by 11:00 on Tuesday (March 30, 2004), we will have no alternative but to approach the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (Ngcuka) to investigate this matter."