‘I don’t know him’: Mabandla denies Wagener link in alleged bid to halt Chikane case prosecution

Former justice minister Brigitte Mabandla has denied knowing prominent attorney Jan Wagener, whose name surfaced at the TRC cases inquiry during evidence about an alleged attempt to halt the prosecution of those accused of trying to kill Rev Frank Chikane.

Wagener was an attorney who represented apartheid-era security force members, generals and police officers during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission amnesty hearings.

Mabandla was on Tuesday before the inquiry to answer allegations that she ordered the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in 2004 to halt investigations and prosecutions of apartheid-era perpetrators until new prosecutorial guidelines were finalised.

She was questioned about an account in which former NPA senior prosecutor advocate Anton Ackermann was allegedly told by Wagener that Mabandla would call him about the Chikane attempted-murder case.

In her response, Mabandla told the commission: “I don’t know him. I’ve never met him. No, I never even heard about him.”

Ackermann previously testified that Wagener approached him and claimed that high-level political figures, including ANC leaders, former president Thabo Mbeki and former president FW de Klerk, had orchestrated an agreement to effectively shield apartheid perpetrators from future prosecution.

Mabandla said she had only come across Wagener’s name and the allegations surrounding him while reading documents in preparation for her appearance before the commission.

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Mabandla also dismissed claims that an official from her department communicated a decision to halt prosecutions, arguing that her staff lacked such detailed knowledge of the NPA work.

“The officials that were in my department, in my office, would never, chairperson, have done that. No official from my department was identified in the story,” she said.

Mabandla also rejected allegations that she personally instructed former acting national director of public prosecutions Silas Ramaite to halt TRC-related prosecutions pending the finalisation of prosecution guidelines.

“I deny that I instructed Dr Ramaite as alleged. I was sure in my mind that I had not given such an instruction,” Mabandla said.

“It is unheard of that a minister would call to discuss a matter of this nature with an official over the phone. The ordinary method of communication is through a memorandum sent from my office to the NDPP.”

She added that sensitive security matters were not discussed over the telephone because of the possibility of interception.

“For this reason too, I would never have called Dr Ramaite about work that is the subject matter before the security cluster,” she said.

“It’s not how I would work. I always take a step back, so I just couldn’t imagine myself just taking that phone call and saying, ‘Now do this.’”

Asked whether she now had a firm recollection, she said: “I’m comfortable with our findings because it’s closer to what I think of who I am; I wouldn’t have done that kind of thing.”

Commissioners questioned why Mabandla filed her supplementary affidavit late, despite meeting former NPA head Bulelani Ngcuka on October 6 to discuss concerns about her original statement.

“I wanted to recall the truth. In my mind, I knew all the time that that couldn’t have happened.”

She said Ngcuka had cautioned her against making a definitive statement, suggesting that she might have made the call but would have been within her rights to ask Ramaite to wait for the policy process.

“Mr Ngcuka was really cautioning me not to make the error of being definitive, when in fact, I could have made a call,” Mabandla said.

The proceedings have adjourned, with former minister of intelligence Ronnie Kasris expected to give evidence on Thursday.