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Former Eskom CEO Matshela Koko followed former President Jacob Zuma’s strategy, accusing the state capture commission of inquiry of failing to carry out its work impartially and reaching a foregone conclusion.
In a letter from a lawyer to Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo, Koko alleged that commission investigators have used affidavits he submitted before taking the stand Thursday to come up with a version of events to counter his testimony.
The letter noted that the commission’s evidence leaders limited the witnesses to the content of their affidavits. Only by cross-examination of their own legal representatives could witnesses venture further.
This was not necessarily unfair, Koko’s lawyers admitted. But it appeared, they said, that commission investigators and evidentiary leaders were using this method to develop what is known in the litigation as a “theory of the case,” even though the commission was not a court of law and witnesses were not. on trial.
“Then you pursue and strive to substantiate your interpretation before you as the Unionas much as lawyers would in court. It is inevitable that in their presentation of evidence they will strive to substantiate their theory of the case and seek to challenge any alternative narrative. “
The letter was signed on December 3, the eve of the first of Koko’s two days of testimony this month.
“The nature of the process before you is not litigious. However, the proceedings have largely been developed to resemble a contradictory litigation process with all the pitfalls of trial proceedings in a court of law.
“The commission’s legal team acts in this process and is essentially the the Union”He continued, using the Latin term to denote the leading party in a legal process.
In her particular case, Koko believed that the commission’s lawyers were singing from the same hymn sheet as members of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) investigating an alleged “Machiavellian conspiracy” to force the Optimum Coal Mine to carry out a rescue. business.
Optimum’s subsequent sale to Tegeta Exploration and the coal supply agreement that the Gupta-related company obtained with Eskom is considered one of the most blatant examples of state capture under investigation.
In the letter, Koko made a case that Glencore’s long-lasting and welcoming relationship with Eskom needed to be investigated, noting “dismay” that the commission had not bothered to do so. The relevant story, he said, included the acquisition of Optimum by Glencore and its partners, including Lexshell 849, in 2012. At the time, Lexshell was among Cyril Ramaphosa’s key business interests.
“It is evident that the legal team and the investigators of the commission have not directed themselves to investigate and report to the commission, among others, the instances of irregularity and corruption, referred to above, of which they have or should be aware.”
Koko said the commission needed to explain this lapse. “It is fairly apparent to any reasonable and informed observer of the proceedings before the commission to date, including our client, that the legal team and commission investigators have accepted the theory of the case as set forth in the subpoena. from Eskom / SIU and they are chasing if before you. “
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