Big loss as head of SIU quits

Advocate who led Nkandla probe resigning due to wife’s ill health

The head of the Special Investigations Unit has quit his job. Advocate Vas Soni said yesterday he had tendered his resignation to President Jacob Zuma nearly a week ago. Soni said the reasons were personal and related to the ill-health of his wife.

He and his team were mandated by Zuma to probe what had happened at Nkandla and recently handed over their report to parliament.

It found that Zuma had been enriched by state-funded improvements to his home, but placed the blame for millions lost as the project escalated on the “unacceptable extravagance” of his architect Minenhle Makhanya.

Soni’s resignation has raised concerns about the weakening of security and corruption fighting agencies and comes at a time when several other state security institutions are without permanent heads.

-Kingdom Mabuza and Graeme Hosken