Andre de Ruyter to be served court papers in Germany: report
The Gauteng High Court has reportedly given the ANC the right to serve papers relating to its defamation claim against former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter – in Germany.
According to News24, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has given the governing party an “edictal citation”, allowing it to serve court papers in a foreign country.
An authorised official under German law will serve the papers to de Ruyter.
De Ruyter went to ground following an explosive interview with eNCA where he made explosive claims of entrenched corruption at Eskom, perpetrated by the ANC.
He alleged that a “high-ranking politician” was directly involved in corruption, and when he reported this to a “senior minister”, the minister in question alluded to being aware of the activity.
The former CEO’s claims made headlines, with opposition parties and South Africans at large speculating on the identities of the politicians mentioned and demanding that de Ruyter name them.
The ANC denied the allegations, and said that de Ruyter had to report the matter to the authorities, open a case with the SAPS, and retract his statements pertaining to the party or face legal action.
However, de Ruyter was nowhere to be seen following the interview, and the ANC struggled to locate him to serve him court papers.
While de Ruyter did finally make an appearance to give his statements to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in April, his presence was virtual, raising questions as to where he was based.
The former CEO only gave vague indications during his interview with ENCA that it might be in the best interests of his and his family’s safety that he leave the country.
Deep trouble
During his presentation to Scopa, de Ruyter said that his life was not currently under threat, and that he had not received any new threats since his alleged poisoning at the end of 2022.
However, the former Eskom executive is in high demand, with many parties seeking answers to the various claims he has made.
According to News24 investigations, de Ruyter’s claims appear to be based on several intelligence reports that were commissioned by the CEO, which contained some outlandish allegations with little to no evidence to back them up.
Not only is de Ruyter on the hook for not repeating those allegations on a very public platform – and naming the ANC in them – but also for the potentially illegal nature of the private investigation from which they were sourced.
As reported by City Press, parliament, the State Security Agency (SSA) and the Public Enterprise’s department want to know how unvetted operatives were given unrestrained access to sensitive information at Eskom during the investigations, while the authorised agencies were given no information.
Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) member Sakhumzi Moyo also previously said that the investigation could pose a risk to Eskom as de Ruyter was also not properly vetted.
Answers coming soon?
Speaking to Scopa, de Ruyter was questioned over the senior minister and high-ranking politician he alleged were aware of the entrenched corruption at Eskom.
However, he remained tight-lipped and refused to name names, citing security and litigation risks. He directed Scopa to ask Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, as he was best suited to answer the committee’s questions.
Gordhan is currently in China trying to solve ongoing issues relating to rail contracts but will be invited to appear before Scopa after his trip.
Moreover, the security advisor to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Dr Sydney Mufamadi – also named by de Ruyter as someone who can name specific politicians – is also expected to appear before Scopa.
“The committee plans to meet these cited parties to get more information on the allegations made by Mr de Ruyter. Mr de Ruyter has told SCOPA to contact the HAWKS, Mr Gordhan and Dr Mufamadi for further details on the allegations that he made in the eNCA interview,” the committee said.
“He indicated that he reported the identity of a high-ranking politician as well as individuals he referred to in his interview as allegedly involved in criminal activities in Eskom to Mr Gordhan, Dr Mufamadi and the HAWKS.”
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