Minister's wife in court on drug charges

Sheryl Cwele (50), wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, appeared on charges of drug dealing in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday. Cwele and Frank Nabolis, a Nigerian arrested last month, are facing three charges, Hawks spokesperson Musa Zondi said. These are dealing or conspiring to deal in drugs, procuring a woman called Charmaine Moss to collect drugs in Turkey and another, Tessa Beetge, to smuggle 9kg of cocaine.

Beetge was arrested in São Paulo by Brazilian police on June 13 2008. They found 9,2kg of cocaine concealed in her baggage and she is currently serving an eight-year jail sentence for drug-trafficking in São Paulo. Zondi said Cwele, who was arrested at her office on Friday morning, would remain in jail until her bail application is heard next Friday. "The state intends opposing bail," he added.

The Hawks said Moss was the state's main witness in the case, which prompted a call from the Democratic Alliance on Friday for the state security minister to resign. Cwele, who is the director for health and community services at the Hibiscus Coast Municipality, was linked to Beetge in newspaper reports early last year but denied any involvement in drug dealing. According to the state, she was in contact with Nabolis soon after Beetge's arrest and the Nigerian then left the country for a while. He was arrested in Gauteng in December and has been in jail since then. The Hawks said he is also believed to be involved in drug manufacturing in Gauteng.

State counsel, advocate Ian Cook, said Cwele and Nabolis would appear in the Pietermaritzburg High Court again on February 12. In an interview with the Mercury newspaper a day before her arrest, Cwele insisted she was innocent and said as a Christian she believed "the only person who will solve the problem is God". Asked about the allegations against her, her husband reportedly told the newspaper: "I don't know anything you are talking about and nobody has been charged."

The DA on Friday urged him to prove that he was in no way involved in the matter or to resign from the Cabinet. "This is disturbing news and raises a number of serious questions regarding the minister. We believe that he must demonstrate to the South African public that he is in no way compromised by this matter; if he fails to do so, he ought to stand down from his position right away."

Source: Mail & Guardian