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Ramaphosa feels the heat over Dalindyebo’s early release

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PARDON? King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo
PARDON? King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo

Justice minister says jailed monarch would only get early release if the president is convinced the verdict and sentence were too harsh or caused instability in the kingdom

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha says there are only two grounds on which President Cyril Ramaphosa could set jailed AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo free earlier than expected: sympathy that the sentence is harsh or public interest.

Masutha rubbished the DA’s claims that the pardon application currently on Ramaphosa’s desk was an ploy by the ANC to win votes ahead of the May 8 elections.

Dalindyebo’s application for a presidential pardon follows a series of attempts to plead his case, including lodging an appeal against his 12-year jail sentence, which began in 2015 with the Constitutional Court, which proved unsuccessful.

Former president Jacob Zuma was seen to be hostile to the king, raising expectations that Ramaphosa would be sympathetic, and more so given the pressure the incumbent is under to revive the ANC’s electoral fortunes.

“It has been an ongoing process that dates back to the beginning of 2016. Now we are at the beginning of 2019, which is, in effect, more than three years that this process has been under way. At the time [the application was first lodged], elections were not even on the radar screen,” Masutha told City Press.

“From where I am sitting,” he added, “issues of elections and all of that do not bear any relevance. What is relevant is that we have received the application and it has to be considered as we do in other instances where applications are lodged.”

Masutha said Ramaphosa asked him towards the end of last year – long before election campaigning had begun – to “deal fully with the matter by taking the initiative to engage with all the stakeholders who had either been pursuing the matter or had a strong interest in it”.

“All I will say is that, as stipulated in jurisprudence dealing with a presidential pardon, the courts have generally identified two grounds: one is if the president is of the view that the verdict or the sentence is harsh relative to the offence committed, whereby the president can either grant a reprieve or a remission of sentence.”

The second ground for presidential pardon was public interest, he said, “which is contained in this submission as there is an apparent instability in the kingdom as a result of the absence of the rightful heir to the throne, the king himself, because of his incarceration”.

Presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko said there was “no substance to any insinuation that the president is rushing to get this matter concluded for electioneering purposes”.

“The president has noted the so-called ultimatum, whereby those loyal to the king are threatening [not to vote in the May elections] if the king is not released, and finds it extremely unfortunate,” Diko said.

She said Ramaphosa would consider the jailed monarch’s application, as well as others currently before him, with due regard for applicable legal prescripts.

“There is no prescribed timeframe in law by which the president must make such decision.”

At the end of January this year, Masutha’s chief of staff, Kagiso Moleme, requested the state attorney’s office in East London “to brief” advocate Mthunzi Mhaga – the minister’s former spokesperson – to assist and advise Masutha about the pardon application.

“Advocate Mhaga’s services are required based on his familiarity with the matter and knowledge of the traditional legal systems,” said Moleme in a letter dated January 31 2019.

But by then Mhaga had already started invoicing the department for the work done. His invoice, dated January 16, showed that by December 20 2018 he was already working on the case, “travelling to East London from Willowvale and back to a consultation with client and legal adviser in East London with permission of state attorney”.

Even more mysterious, the records showed that the state attorney received the invoice on January 8 – eight days earlier than the date on which the invoice was prepared.

On February 5, according to a payment advice, the invoice was settled, following approval by the state attorney two weeks earlier.

The invoice also showed that on January 10, Mhaga was “attending to the completion of the presidential pardon application form and consultation with the king’s spokesperson and the entire Amabhele lobby group in East London,” for which he charged the day fee.

Documents showed that Mhaga earned close to R200 000 for his services.

The DA’s spokesperson on justice and constitutional development, Glynnis Breytenbach, said the timing of Dalindyebo’s presidential pardon could be viewed as “electioneering”.

“It would most certainly appear to be irregular if the minister of justice supplied a private person with legal assistance at the expense of the state.

“If it is indeed so that the minister provided the king with legal assistance at state expense, then it could be seen as conflating party and state, and the timing thereof could be viewed as electioneering,” she said.

On Thursday Masutha defended the appointment of Mhaga as his legal advisor, saying he was well appraised with the issues and parties in the area.

“He had a good background of the matter and we felt it would make it a lot easier to get somebody who even comes from the area and understands the traditions and protocols that are applicable, especially when it comes to engaging with members of the royal family and the king himself.

“In addition to providing legal advice, he facilitated a whole range of consultative processes, all of which are contained in detailed reports that he has submitted to us and that have enabled us.”

Masutha said that he would not have been in a position to do that kind of work himself.

Masutha said Dalindyebo’s presidential pardon request had been articulated by various interested parties, including the Congress of Traditional Leaders of SA when it first made such a petition in January 2016 to Zuma.

“This petition was submitted to the presidency at the time, January 2016, which in turn forwarded it to us. And that’s how we dealt with the matter.”

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