Apartheid torture steeled Pravin Gordhan for political warfare
Pravin Gordhan was detained three times as he worked to bring an end to apartheid in SA, enduring beatings and suffocation at the hands of the police. He revealed no secrets. Now Gordhan, in his second stint as finance minister, is demonstrating equal resolve in a standoff with President Jacob Zuma. They are at loggerheads over how the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is managed and over the expansion of nuclear power. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) dropped fraud charges against Gordhan on Monday, though it is still investigating allegations that he oversaw the establishment of an illicit investigative unit as head of the tax agency almost a decade ago. Civil rights groups, about 80 chiefs of some of SA’s biggest companies and scores of ANC leaders have rallied to Gordhan’s defence and his recent speeches have been given standing ovations. He says he’s been the victim of "persecution and political mischief" driven by "rent-seekers" intent on accessing state coffers. "I...
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