Bussiness Day today:
PRETORIA Transport Minister Dullah Omar said yesterday he would raise "his concerns" about the arrest of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) CEO Trevor Abrahams with the ministers of safety and security and justice.
"I will ask for the circumstances of his arrest, why the arrest took place, what evidence was available when the arrest was effected, who ordered the arrest, the way investigations have been conducted and the interaction with certain Afrikaans newspapers, to be investigated in a transparent manner," Omar said at a briefing where he announced the reinstatement of Abrahams as commissioner of civil aviation.
The reinstatement came after charges of fraud and corruption against Abrahams were withdrawn in the Pretoria Commercial Crime Court yesterday.
The CAA board was still considering Abrahams' situation last night after the charges against him were withdrawn.
"As the police investigation proceeded, it became clear that there was no case against Mr Abrahams in respect of those charges, which then fell away," Omar said.
At the time of his arrest, Abrahams was assisting a review panel in an inquiry into the charges. He had requested Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi and the National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka to assist in the inquiry, Omar said.
"Two days before the person appointed by (Ngcuka) was due to start at the enquiry, Mr Abrahams was arrested."
The panel reviewed an investigation launched in March by the CAA's legal adviser Khalatse Marobela into claims by former pilot Louis Maloma that eight pilots had obtained their licences illegally after having access to examination papers.
Omar questioned why such a highly placed person was arrested without there being any kind of credible evidence indicating collusion or guilt.
He said there had been the regular leaks of information about the progress of Abrahams's case to a certain newspaper he did not mention.
The Democratic Alliance said it was shocked by the court's decision to drop charges against Abrahams.