The arrest of African National Congress parliamentary chief whip Mr Tony Yengeni on charges of corruption has triggered a defensive reaction from the ANC government and stimulated speculation that he could be merely the first ANC notable to be arraigned on allegations of corruption and related charges.
The government has been quick to assert that the arrest does not compromise a controversial R43.8 bn arms deal, though Mr Yengeni, a former chairman of the parliamentary defence committee is accused of accepting a 50 per cent discount on a luxury vehicle from a company seeking to win a contract to supply arms.
An official government statement declares: "We remain confident that the process of primary contracting, which was the core function of government, was watertight."
It reiterates an earlier government position that the process was "fail-safe" against corruption.
One of the specific charges against Mr Yengeni is that he accepted a discount worth nearly R125,000 on a luxury 4 x 4 vehicle from DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, one of the competing companies, and in return promised that he would use his influence in their favour.