Mining magnate Brett Kebble says he has reported National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka to the Public Protector and that he may yet sue him for defamation. "Far from being impartial, fair or upholding my constitutional rights (Ngcuka) has found me guilty without a trial and trampled on my rights," Kebble told a media conference on Thursday.
Ngcuka's statements had cost his company transactions that would have created thousands of jobs and enhanced South Africa's influence in Africa. He had filed a complaint with the Public Protector and would await the outcome of this investigation before deciding what other action to take. He had not ruled out the possibility of a defamation lawsuit, Kebble said. This follows a meeting Ngcuka had with selected newspaper editors on July 24 to brief them off the record on the progress of the investigation into allegations against Deputy President Jacob Zuma. Selected details of the briefing - including statements Ngcuka is alleged to have made about Kebble - were leaked to a weekly newspaper.
Kebble said he had not commented before as he had believed the state, especially the justice ministry, would deal with the problem. But "there has been a deafening silence from the authorities" about Ngcuka's "(abusing) his office when he addressed editors". Asked how he knew Ngcuka had made the statements reported by the weekly, Kebble said he had obtained "verification". He claimed a former associate, whom he was suing for more than R50-million he believed was owed to him, of being behind the campaign to "bring about my downfall".
Kebble faces trial on fraud charges, which he has said relate to alleged technical breaches of company regulations. Responding to Kebble's comments on Thursday, Ngcuka's office denied any wrongdoing in the criminal action against him or members of his family. "Mr Kebble will have ample opportunity to raise his concerns next week when he appears in the high court in Johannesburg to answer fraud charges relating to share price manipulation and other contraventions of the Companies Act," said the statement. It said Justice Minister Penuell Maduna had written to Kebble inviting him to put his allegations before Judge Joos Hefer's commission of inquiry, which would establish if there had been an abuse of power.
The retired judge is investigating an allegation, carried in a weekend newspaper, that Ngcuka had been an apartheid spy.
Source: IoL
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