SA laureates demand arms inquiry

Former Archbishop Desmond Tutu and ex South African leader F W de Klerk have called for an independent inquiry into a major South African arms deal.

The two South African Nobel peace laureates asked President Kgalema Motlanthe to ensure that the 1999 deal is properly investigated.

With general elections approaching, voters had the right to know the truth about "a major scandal", they said.

The deal, costing nearly $5bn, has been mired in allegations of corruption.

Senior figures in the governing African National Congress, including the party leader Jacob Zuma, have been accused of corruption in relation to the deal.

Hand delivered

In a letter to the president, Archbishop Tutu and Mr de Klerk argue for the "widest possible investigation into impropriety and corruption".

They said they were writing as "concerned citizens" who are "deeply troubled about the state of the rule of law, accountability and constitutionality in our country".

A commission of inquiry should to be appointed by 10 December 2008, they said.

In addition to investigating who should be prosecuted, the commission should consider the possibility of cancelling the deal, which was "tainted by corrupt and fraudulent dealings", they argue.

The letter was delivered by hand on Monday, but a presidential spokesman said on Tuesday evening that President Kgalema had not yet seen it, and therefore could not comment on its contents.

In 1999, the South African government announced its largest-ever post-apartheid arms deal, signing contracts totalling almost $5bn to modernise its national defence force.

The deal involved companies from Germany, Italy, Sweden, Britain, France and South Africa.

BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says even before the allegations of corruption were made, the spending of billions of dollars on new fighter jets, helicopters, submarines and warships was controversial in a country where millions live in poverty.

Critics also pointed out that there was no credible threat to South Africa's sovereignty to justify the spending.

Charges

There have been allegations of conflict of interest, bribery and process violations in the purchasing of equipment.

A number of those involved in the deal have already been convicted:

• Tony Yengeni, ANC member of parliament and chairman of the Defence Committee in parliament was arrested in 2001 and later found guilty of fraud, perjury and corruption in relation to a luxury car he received at a discount.
• Schabir Shaik, financial adviser to Mr Zuma, was found guilty of soliciting bribes and sentenced to 15 years in connection with the deal.

Mr Zuma himself is still facing allegations of corruption, although in September 2008 a judge declared that the case then before him was invalid and threw out the charges on a legal technicality.

The ANC leader has repeatedly declared his innocence and is fighting to clear his name.

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