Why the Hawks are going after Danny Jordaan

Here are five things you need to know about the case:

• The Hawks alleges that between 2014 and 2018 the Safa president used the organisation’s resources for his personal gain. This included hiring a private security company for personal protection and a public relations company without authorisation to clean up his battered image;
• Jordaan is alleged to have violated Safa statutes prejudicing the organisation to the loss of R1.3m paid to PR firm, Grit Communications, to influence the media to push a positive narrative about Safa and himself at the height of scandals and damaging allegations, including rape, he faced;
• The Hawks raided Safa offices on March 8 to obtain information related to contracts that Safa and Jordaan signed with Grit Communications and Badger Security which were flagged by people within the organisation as irregular;
• It is alleged that former Safa CEO Dennis Mumble refused to sign a service level agreement between Safa and Grit Communications because it exceeded R250,000 and required a tender process; and
• Grit Communication said in a report to Safa that its public relations objective for several months was to obtain positive media coverage, increase local support for Safa and expand its traditional media influence. It also provided direct and ongoing support to Jordaan and Safa during the tumultuous rape allegations against him.

Five key things in Jordaan’s affidavit, seeking to block his arrest:

• Jordaan says Grit Communications was appointed to safeguard “the good name and reputation of Safa” and paid R1.3m over three years which was accounted for in the organisation’s annual financial statements;
• He denies that he or any of the executives at Safa committed any criminality on the appointment of the two service providers [Grit Communications and Badger Security] for the years in question and accuses the complaints in the matter of having an axe to grind against him;
• Safa president wants the court to block his arrest in the matter pending a review application to declare the search and seizure warrants for the raids at Safa House defective;
• Jordaan also wants the court to order the Hawks to return all information and documents confiscated during its raid in March and or destroy all copies of documents it obtained whether physical or electronic; and
• He says the Hawks exceeded the scope of their search and seizure warrant by confiscating Safa CFO’s laptop and gaining access to an entire electronic repository of information.

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