Deleted info in Zim rendition report meant to clear Dramat, Sibiya – lawyer
Werksmans Attorneys was engaged by former Minister Nathi Nhleko to investigate why a report issued before Robert McBride’s tenure recommended the suspensions of Anwa Dramat and Shadrack Sibiya.
by Nthakoana NgataneJOHANNESBURG – Werksmans Attorneys lawyer Sandile July has told the state capture commission that the manner in which parts of the Zimbabwe renditions report were deleted led him to believe that the aim was to deliberately get Anwa Dramat and Shadrack Sibiya off the hook.
The firm was engaged by former Minister Nathi Nhleko to investigate why a report issued before Robert McBride’s tenure recommended the suspensions of Dramat and Sibiya.
Yet the second report issued during McBride’s tenure exonerated them.
July corroborated Nhleko’s suspicions that a change in the recommendations of the Zimbabwe renditions reports was intended to make it look like Dramat was not involved in the illegal renditions of Zimbabweans who were later killed in that country.
Former Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) boss Robert McBride told the commission that the Zimbabwe renditions matter was a conspiracy.
“I listened to them mislead you chair, that all that they changed were the analysis…they were lying.”
July gave Zondo an example of crucial evidence that was deleted.
“Madilongwe says ‘I pick up a phone and tell my bosses I have Zimbabwe police [who] say they want to come into the country to see Dramat’, these bosses say ‘call him’ [and] he calls Dramat. That on its own is a problem, because if you come into the country you must produce documents. That information is deleted.”
July continued giving his evidence on Friday afternoon.