Durban July protest called off in absence of any Markus Jooste runners

A protest by the 240,000-member Public Servants Association at South Africa’s biggest race meeting, the Durban July, this Saturday will not go ahead after it became clear disgraced business tycoon Markus Jooste will not be represented.

The union had threatened to disrupt the meeting in the event of any Jooste runners lining up, but with no horses owned by Jooste or his Mayfair Speculators racing company featuring in any of the 12 races it has accepted that a protest in unnecessary.

However, the PSA’s general manager Ivan Fredericks said: “People need to understand that Mr Jooste cannot be allowed to continue making millions while his actions have had a devastating effect on thousands of people’s pension investments.”

The PSA’s pension funds were heavily invested in Steinhoff International, which last Friday published its first results since CEO Jooste’s shock resignation last December, leading to the disclosure of financial irregularities.

The company made a loss of R9.6 billion (£531 million/€602m) for the six months to March 31 and the total value of overstated assets, coupled with the reversal of non arms-length transactions, was said to be R98bn (£5.4bn/€6.1bn).

Jooste, who has not been seen at a race meeting in South Africa since the financial irregularities were made public, is being investigated by the Hawks (the police wing that targets economic crime and corruption) for alleged fraud.

He has sold the vast majority of his horses in South Africa, a notable exception being Charles, owned in partnerships with Sue Magnier but running in Jooste’s colours. The two-year-old was sold for a South African record R6 million (£332,000/€376,000) as a yearling and made a winning debut at Kenilworth a fortnight ago. But the colt was never an intended runner at the Durban July meeting and trainer Brett Crawford has talked of putting him away until next season.

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