GOOD Statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
11 April 2023
The extradition of the so-called Gupta brothers was legally ,morally, politically and emotionally important for South Africa.
After all the investment in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry, their extradition should have signaled progress in the State’s capacity to fight corruption and state capture.
Instead, the failure of the extradition application, blamed by the UAE on a fault in the application process, effectively handed the brothers a get-out-of-jail-free card.
It is imperative that Parliament urgently discusses this matter, as a mechanism to hold government to account as well as to provide clarity to citizens on what actually went wrong.
The idea that the Gupta bothers are off the hook and roaming free is both devastating and suspicious. South Africans deserve answers and, where necessary, consequences for this failure.
The GOOD Party has therefore written to the Speaker requesting that she schedule this serious matter of national importance for debate by the House.
*Last week the Minister of Justice Minister confirmed that South Africa’s extradition application for the brothers, who were arrested in the United Arab Emirates pursuant to an Interpol Red Notice to face charges of fraud and money-laundering, had been denied by the UAE court in February 2023.
The pair were said to be leading beneficiaries of so-called State Capture, and were repeatedly implicated in the report of the Zondo Commission.
Holding them accountable by bringing them to court was of massive importance to the nation’s confidence in the criminal justice system, and the political willingness of government to prosecute corruption.
South Africa invested nearly R1 billion in the Zondo Commission, and South Africans invested massive trust and hopes that the Inquiry would result in prosecutions and justice.
Media Enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
Cell: 0825183264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 0733671223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za