Arms deal inquiry continues with public hearings

The commission, led by Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Willie Seriti, was set up by President Jacob Zuma in October 2011, to look into allegations of fraud, corruption, impropriety or irregularity in the Strategic Defence Procurement Package.

The commission is to investigate six areas, including whether any person or persons within and/or outside the government may have improperly influenced the awarding or conclusion of any of the contracts in the arms deal procurement process of the 1990s.

Recently the commission was hit by resignations with the latest from Judge Legodi who tendered his resignation for personal reasons last week.

This has raised questions about the credibility of the commission, but last week, the Presidency said President Zuma was "satisfied that the resignation of Judge Legodi does not impact negatively on the integrity of the Commission nor any of its functions, albeit that the timing poses certain challenges."

The public hearings are set to run until January 2014. Former President Thabo Mbeki, Planning Minister Trevor Manuel and former Ministers Mosiuoa Lekota, Ronnie Kasrils and Alec Erwin are some of the people who will appear before the commission.