"It's clear to the ANC that Dan Plato conspired and helped in ... manufacturing the affidavit and that is illegal."
|||Cape Town - Provincial ANC chairman Marius Fransman has called for Community Safety MEC Dan Plato to be axed after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) dismissed allegations forwarded by Plato that implicate a senior politician in crime.
“The source of the allegations is a witness who lacks credibility and whose version is unable to be corroborated in any respect,” DPP Rodney de Kock said on Tuesday.
Fransman, named in some of the allegations which Plato forwarded to be probed, said it had always been clear Plato had conspired in helping to manufacture the documents.
“We call on (Premier) Helen Zille to immediately fire Plato,” he said.
But Plato, who heard of the DPP’s findings via the media, defended himself, saying he had not made the allegations and that when members of the public came forward with complaints and allegations, he had a duty to report the matters to the relevant authorities.
While Plato had referred the allegations naming Fransman and others to the public protector, the ANC lodged a complaint with the police accusing Plato of abusing his power, perjury and conspiracy to commit perjury.
And last week the DA and ANC publicly accused each other in the Western Cape Legislature of being involved in gangs.
DA MPL Mark Wiley had told the legislature the DA had affidavits that linked among others, Fransman, top policeman
Jeremy Vearey and ANC MPL Max Ozinsky to gun running, drug smuggling and murder.
Plato told the Cape Times he handed the affidavits to the public protector. Yesterday De Kock’s statement said the public protector had referred “certain allegations”, received from Plato, to the Hawks.
“The allegations are that a senior politician and an SAPS officer have involved themselves in various alleged criminal activities,” De Kock said.
The Hawks conducted an inquiry and the statement said on July 13 the commander of the Hawks detective service referred an inquiry file to the DPP’s office. “The DPP considers that the inquiry contains insufficient evidence to suggest he should take any further steps and he has declined to do so,” De Kock’s statement said.
On Tuesday Fransman said he knew of an affidavit that Plato had got hold of that named Fransman, Vearey and Ozinsky. “Plato will have to answer to the authorities on his involvements in trying to… conspire against SAPS and politicians,” he said.
Fransman said he and his colleagues “always knew” the affidavit Plato had was manufactured. “We don’t believe he received information. It’s clear to the ANC that Dan Plato conspired and helped in the process of manufacturing the affidavit and… that is illegal,” he said.
Plato said on Tuesday when receiving complaints or allegations, he had no way of determining whether or not allegations were true and he therefore referred the matters to authorities to probe. “This particular information was given to the public protector to ensure that it was investigated in an impartial and independent manner,” he said.
Plato noted De Kock’s statement, but pointed out that he himself had not made the allegations - a member of the public had. “I simply referred a document given to me by this individual to the public protector. I was simply doing my duty… I await a report from the public protector to whom the matter was originally referred,” Plato said.
On Tuesday Zille said Plato had a duty to report “complaints or serious allegations” that the public took to him.
“This is what he did in this case. Why would I fire minister Plato for simply performing the duties required of him?” she asked.
caryn.dolley@inl.co.za
Cape Times
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