Richard Young's arms deal testimony postponed

Judge Willie Seriti adjourned proceedings in Pretoria on Wednesday afternoon, a few minutes after starting.

 

Seriti postponed the public hearings after lawyers for the defence department complained they had not received adequate copies of Young's testimony.

 

Young has twice failed to appear before the inquiry.

 

In February, the commission adjourned after Young asked it to postpone his appearance to March, in a letter he sent to the commission. Young said his statement was not finalised and therefore he would not be in a position to present his evidence.

 

He failed to attend and testify in July last year. The commission was told then that he had undergone an eye operation and was battling to read.

 

Young has reportedly raised concerns that the commission was not allowing allegations of fraud and corruption to be put to State witnesses, as these were only meant to be dealt with in phase two of the hearing.

 

He has accused the commission of being one-sided, in that it made no attempt to rigorously examine the evidence of government witnesses.

 

The commission, chaired by Seriti, was appointed by President Jacob Zuma in 2011 to hold public hearings into the controversial multi billion rand arms deal.

 

Last year, Zuma extended the commission's term until April 30, 2015, after which it is expected to issue a report within six months.