Two judges rubbish Survé claim of Gordhan link
As the battle between media baron Iqbal Survé and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan becomes increasingly vitriolic following last week’s raid on the offices of Sekunjalo, a company chaired by Survé, two judges have rubbished allegations run in his weekend newspapers that they had links with Gordhan, notes Legalbrief.
Both Judge Lex Mpati, who heads the Public Investment Corporate Commission of Inquiry, and Western Cape High Court Judge Patrick Gamble made clear his allegations that they were somehow tied up with Gordhan held no water.
Survé accused Gordhan of trying to influence the commission, and that he wanted the commission to make ‘adverse findings’ against Survé’s companies, according to a report on the IoL site. He also claimed Gamble was a friend of Gordhan and the DA, notes a TimesLIVE report.
A Fin24 report quotes Mpati as saying the allegations ‘have no basis in fact’.
‘The commission views the article in a serious light and as part of an on-going attempt to discredit the work of the commission, the integrity of the commissioners and an endeavour to influence its findings. The commission will not tolerate interference in its work from any quarter. Nor will it countenance attempts to influence or intimidate it, irrespective of who may attempt to do so,’ Mpati said.
‘The commission will continue with its work without fear or favour and reserves the right to take action, in accordance with the regulations, against any party who seeks to interfere in its work.’
Gamble denied having any association with either Gordhan or the DA.
The TimesLIVE report notes Survé was quoted in reports saying that Gamble – who issued an order for the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) to conduct a raid at his offices in Cape Town – was a friend of the DA and Gordhan.
‘You went to a judge who is a friend of the DA and Pravin Gordhan. This is purely a fishing expedition on your part,’ he said.
The FSCA has made it clear the raid at Survé's offices was part of an investigation into allegations of ‘prohibited trading practices’.
The body said the order was granted by Gamble on 8 October. In a statement released by the Office of the Chief Justice, Gamble said he did not know Gordhan and had never met him, either in his official or personal capacity.
It added that 'Gamble has no affiliation nor membership with any political party, nor has he in the past'.
According to the statement, Gamble had dealt with urgent court matters, including the FSCA applications, in the week of 30 September to 4 October.
‘On Tuesday, 1 October 2019 the FSCA lodged two confidential applications with the chief registrar of this court for search warrants of the offices of Sekunjalo Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd and certain other companies in Cape Town under the relevant statutory provisions. The chief registrar placed the files before Judge Gamble, who thereafter dealt with the applications,’ the CJ's office said.
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