Presidency is investigating Heath Remarks

10 December 2011

The Presidency has noted media reports on the concerns of Former President Thabo Mbeki about the utterances of the newly-appointed head of the Special Investigating Unit, Willem Heath.

The Presidency also received a letter from lawyers acting for former President Mbeki on the utterances.

We wish to point out as follows;

None of the allegations made by Mr Heath have been attributed to any duty or function which he exercises as the Head of the SIU and a perusal of the newspaper report makes it abundantly clear that it was conducted by Mr Heath in his personal capacity. The Presidency and Government in general have nothing whatsoever to do with the comments made by Mr Heath.

Given the serious nature of the allegations, the President announced his decision to the public, during an interview with Ukhozi FM, on the 7th of December, that immediately when he became aware of the City Press newspaper article, he had instructed his office to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the Heath interview.

We wish to emphasise therefore, that President Zuma acted on the matter before any complaint from any quarter, because he was concerned about the contents of the interview.

The President has requested the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development to assist his office and prioritise the matter so that it can be brought to conclusion without delay.

Statement issued by Mac Maharaj, The Presidency, December 10 2011

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