Top ANC politician accused of corruption

The African National Congress party's chief whip, Tony Yengeni, has been charged with corruption, forgery and perjury, linked to a £3.5bn arms deal, in a move which could signal the start of democratic South Africa's first major clampdown on graft.

Mr Yengeni, a jocular, sharp-dressed politician who has risen in the ranks on the back of his massive popularity in the townships, is alleged to have received a large discount on a luxury metallic green Mercedes car as part of a deal with European Aeronautic Defence and Space (Eads) in 1997. As a result the Mercedes ML320 is known in South Africa as "the Yengeni''.

The arrest of Mr Yengeni, who was released on bail in Cape Town, will be seen internationally as a boost to President Thabo Mbeki's democratic credentials amid mounting claims that the ANC too often protects its own.

On the streets at home, though, the arrest of the well-liked politician, whose image contrasts sharply with Mr Mbeki's technocratic demeanour, may be unpopular.

The high-profile "Scorpions'' police unit, which convinced Mr Yengeni, 44, that he should give himself up yesterday morning, also issued an arrest warrant for Michael Woerfel, managing director of the Munich-based Eads, owned by DaimlerChrysler, France's Aerospatiale-Matra and Spain's Casa.

Post-apartheid South Africa's £3.5bn (48bn rand) arms deal, which was struck with a range of European concerns, including British Aerospace, is the subject of three government investigations looking at more than 50 allegations of fraud, including discounts on Mercedes cars allegedly offered to 30 politicians and senior military figures.

It has been reported in the South African media that Mr Yengeni paid 230,000 rands (about £17,000) for a Mercedes with a showroom price of 314,000 rands (about £23,000) in return for favouring the bid by Eads for a range of sub-contracts as part of South Africa's purchase of new warships, helicopters, submarines and fighter aircraft. At the time he was a member of the South African parliament's standing committee on defence procurement.

Yesterday, a range of opposition politicians called for Mr Yengeni to be suspended from parliament and from the ANC. The Pan Africanist Congress MP Patricia de Lille also called for the investigations into the corruption scandal to be broadened.

The United Democratic Movement leader, Bantu Holomisa, said: "We must guard against a situation where Yengeni and Woerfel are made expedient fall guys whilst others are protected.''

Mr Yengeni, who has denied receiving a discounted car in full-page newspaper advertisements, is charged with using his power "to influence the arms acquisitions process in favour of Daimler-Benz or DaimlerChrysler Aerospace'' and facilitating introductions between Mr Woerfel and key players. He also faces a perjury charge for allegedly giving false evidence to one of the three official investigations under way.

Mr Yengeni was released from Cape Town magistrates' court on 10,000 rands' bail (£720) and was not asked to enter a plea.

Mr Yengeni is the most senior ANC figure to have been arrested and accused of corruption since the country's first all-race elections in 1994. He is the first high-ranking ANC parliamentarian to have been arrested while in office. The most high-profile ANC figures to face justice before him have been Allan Boesak, a religious minister and anti-apartheid activist who was briefly jailed for fraud, and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who is regularly pulled in for minor offences and non-payment of bills.