Arms deal critic Terry Crawford-Browne has not thrown in the towel yet after the Constitutional Court dismissed his application for direct access to set aside the Seriti Commission report on the arms deal.
“In anticipation that the Constitutional Court would attempt to ‘duck the political hot potato’ of the arms deal scandal‚ I have already engaged a highly reputed firm of foreign lawyers‚ who specialise in international corruption and fraud‚ and who are looking at alternative resolutions to this saga‚” Crawford-Browne said.
The Seriti Commission report‚ which was released by President Jacob Zuma in March‚ found no evidence of wrongdoing or corruption in the procurement of military equipment for the South African National Defence Force in 1999.
This prompted Crawford-Browne to launch the Constitutional Court application in July‚ which was dismissed on Wednesday.
“Thus‚ whilst local remedies may have been exhausted by the Constitutional Court’s decision‚ the arms deal saga continues‚” Crawford-Browne said.
In a statement following the court decision‚ Crawford-Browne said the Seriti Commission squandered R137-million and wasted five years after Zuma appointed it.
Crawford-Browne also said the evidence that was the very cause of the commission’s creation‚ namely 460 boxes and 4.7-million computer pages against British defence company BAE‚ was left uninvestigated in two shipping containers.
He also said the examination of other evidence‚ including an estimated 17 000 pages compiled by National Treasury and international consultants which warned Cabinet in August 1999 that the arms deal was a reckless proposition‚ was also blocked from the commission.
Crawford-Browne said he filed his application in the Constitutional Court in the public interest and for the people of South Africa who have been the victims of a massive fraud.
“That the Constitutional Court has dismissed (my case) is highly regrettable because of the signals it sends to the international community at a time when South Africa faces investment downgrading to junk status‚ in large part due to the culture of corruption which the arms deal unleashed as also compounded by the misconduct of the president.”
— TMG Digital
Crawford-Browne to fight on after ConCourt ‘ducks the political hot potato’ of the arms deal
Arms deal critic Terry Crawford-Browne has not thrown in the towel yet after the Constitutional Court dismissed his application for direct access to set aside the Seriti Commission report on the arms deal.
“In anticipation that the Constitutional Court would attempt to ‘duck the political hot potato’ of the arms deal scandal‚ I have already engaged a highly reputed firm of foreign lawyers‚ who specialise in international corruption and fraud‚ and who are looking at alternative resolutions to this saga‚” Crawford-Browne said.
The Seriti Commission report‚ which was released by President Jacob Zuma in March‚ found no evidence of wrongdoing or corruption in the procurement of military equipment for the South African National Defence Force in 1999.
This prompted Crawford-Browne to launch the Constitutional Court application in July‚ which was dismissed on Wednesday.
“Thus‚ whilst local remedies may have been exhausted by the Constitutional Court’s decision‚ the arms deal saga continues‚” Crawford-Browne said.
In a statement following the court decision‚ Crawford-Browne said the Seriti Commission squandered R137-million and wasted five years after Zuma appointed it.
Crawford-Browne also said the evidence that was the very cause of the commission’s creation‚ namely 460 boxes and 4.7-million computer pages against British defence company BAE‚ was left uninvestigated in two shipping containers.
He also said the examination of other evidence‚ including an estimated 17 000 pages compiled by National Treasury and international consultants which warned Cabinet in August 1999 that the arms deal was a reckless proposition‚ was also blocked from the commission.
Crawford-Browne said he filed his application in the Constitutional Court in the public interest and for the people of South Africa who have been the victims of a massive fraud.
“That the Constitutional Court has dismissed (my case) is highly regrettable because of the signals it sends to the international community at a time when South Africa faces investment downgrading to junk status‚ in large part due to the culture of corruption which the arms deal unleashed as also compounded by the misconduct of the president.”
— TMG Digital
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