JOHANNESBURG – The National Assembly will debate South Africa’s failed bid to extradite the Guptas after GOOD MP Brett Herron’s request for an urgent debate was accepted.
However, this “urgent” debate will only take place in early June.
Herron submitted his request to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on April 11, days after South African authorities first caught wind of the fact that a United Arab Emirates (UAE) Appeal Court ruled against brothers Rajesh and Atul Gupta’s extradition in February.
On Wednesday, he received positive feedback from Mapisa-Nqakula.
At the National Assembly Programming Committee’s meeting on Thursday morning, Herron was informed the debate would be scheduled at the committee’s next meeting and would most likely take place in “early June,” according to Secretary to the National Assembly Masibulele Xaso.
The subject of the debate proposed by Herron is: “The failure of the government to extradite persons implicated in corruption, as demonstrated by the recent case in the United Arab Emirates, and the consequences thereof.”
In a statement, Herron said the Gupta brothers’ extradition was of significant legal, moral, political and emotional importance for South Africa.
“The country invested nearly R1 billion into the Zondo Commission, and citizens invested massive trust and hope that the process would lead to prosecutions and justice.
“The Guptas were allegedly leading beneficiaries of state capture, and were repeatedly implicated in the report of the Zondo Commission.
Herron added:
South Africans deserve to know what went wrong and who should be held accountable for the government’s extradition failures.
Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola told the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on Tuesday that South Africa could not appeal the Emirati court’s decision, and would now reapply to have the Guptas extradited.
According to Lamola, the Emirati authorities will look at expediting the process. – NEWS24.
