A national hero came a cropper last week, when the High Court in Pretoria threw out Pravin Gordhan’s plea for support against alleged money laundering by the Gupta family. Instead, it ordered him to pay the Gupta family’s costs for opposing his application for a declaratory order that he could not interfere in the relationship between banks and their clients. (Pravin Gordhan loses his Oakbay case, August 18.) A full bench of the court confirmed the legitimacy of the stand taken by Gordhan, but said it was not appropriate for him to draw the judiciary into his battle, which by then had resulted in his dismissal and replacement by a substitute whose appointment was seen as proof of the Guptas’ capture of the Treasury. Although the judges confirmed the legitimacy of the minister’s stand, they denied him the declaratory order, saying it was "unnecessary". They added insult to injury by awarding the Guptas’ costs against the brave minister for seeking judicial support against the flagran...
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