The NHA Boardroom (Archived Picture)
The National Horseracing Authority of South Africa has confirmed that the Peters disciplinary inquiry will continue after news this week that the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, had earlier dismissed an application by Paul Peter and his sons, Anthony & Marc Peter, to have the evidence of a senior NHA special investigator struck from the records of their disciplinary inquiry.
The initiation of civil proceedings by the Peters effectively delayed the conclusion of disciplinary inquiry proceedings dating back to 2023.
Acting Judge JC Prinsloo delivered judgment on Monday finding that the applicants had not established the exceptional ‘grave injustice’ required for a court to intervene before the disciplinary proceedings had been finalised.
The Peters’ review application related to an incident where the regulator’s Special Investigator Paul O’Sullivan, whose services were being utilized by the NHA, was alleged to have been coached by a key NHA witness during inquiry proceedings
The review application centred on Riaan Janse van Rensburg, an NHA senior special investigator and a key witness for the NHA. The applicants challenged a ruling by the inquiry board refusing to strike his evidence from the record.
The NHA disputed that the exchange constituted witness coaching and the court accepted the racing regulator’s version of what had taken place.
The High Court ultimately dismissed the review application, finding that the applicants had failed to satisfy the exceptional threshold of ‘grave injustice’ required for judicial intervention before the inquiry had been finalised. The court held that the board’s ruling was legally sound, procedurally fair and based on a rational assessment of the facts available to it at the time.
The application was dismissed with costs on scale C.
It is important to note that the High Court ruling of this week does not impact on the merits of the disciplinary charges against Paul Peter, Anthony Peter and Marc Peter.
For now, the High Court’s decision removes the attempt to halt the disciplinary process at this stage, leaving the NHA inquiry to continue. There is also a possibility that Acting Justice Goosen’s decision will be taken on appeal by the applicants
The Sporting Post approached NHA CEO Vee Moodley on Thursday afternoon for direction on whether the inquiry will continue.
Mr Moodley said that the NHA would proceed with the inquiry, but that specific dates would depend on the availability of the inquiry board and the respective legal counsel. He said that the NHA would advise when further information was available.
