George van Niekerk, director of litigation at ENS comments on the release on bail of Dr Gastón Savoi

On Wednesday 19 October and Thursday 20 October 2011 respectively both the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court and the Northern Cape High Court ruled that Dr Gastón Savoi be permitted to travel abroad forthwith.

This was the culmination of several attempts by Dr Savoi to obtain leave to pursue his business interests overseas. He had earlier been granted leave to travel, but he was subsequently prevented from travelling by Col Clarence Jones of the Directorate Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) in KwaZulu Natal. In its written judgment (a copy of which is attached) the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court found that the State had defied two specific court orders, by unlawfully preventing Dr Savoi from leaving the country.

Regional Magistrate Chris van Vuuren was scathing in his condemnation of the conduct of the State and remarked that “the deplorable attitude of Col Jones has permeated through to all officials involved in opposing” the attempts of Dr Savoi to obtain leave to travel abroad.

He questioned what he termed “the true motive” of the State.

He also commented on the infighting between various factions in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

Contrary to earlier press reports, it was pointed out in both the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court and the Kimberley High Court that the plea bargain agreements reached two weeks ago with certain of the individual accused, do not implicate Dr Savoi at all.

In the result, both courts have ruled that Dr Savoi is free to leave South Africa on Saturday on extended business trips, one to Europe and the other to South America.

Dr Savoi maintains his innocence, as he has from the start.

His attorney George van Niekerk of Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs Inc added: “Various courts have pronounced adversely over the past year on the conduct of the public prosecutors and the investigating officers in this matter. We have been concerned from the outset about the way in which the prosecution has been conducted, and the integrity of the process. This is the strongest condemnation yet by the courts of the conduct of the NPA and the Hawks.”