Siphiwe Dlamini
Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the former Public Protector of South Africa, expressed her dismay over the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) decision not to prosecute African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula. Mbalula faced allegations of money laundering after receiving a loan from a supplier to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC).
In 2016, when Mbalula was the Minister of Sports, Sedgars Sports, a well-known sportswear manufacturer owned by the Dockrat family, funded a family holiday to Dubai.
“This is in relation to the Public Protector’s report released on December 19, 2019, that the NPA should look into the allegations that Sedgars Sports funded the Mbalula family holiday to Dubai between December 2016 and January 2017, when he was the Minister of Sports Arts and Culture,”
stated NPA spokesperson in Gauteng, Lumka Mahanjana.
This week, AfriForum’s private prosecution unit has argued that Mbalula should be held accountable. In a “significant step” towards private prosecution, the unit retrieved the docket from the South African Police Service (SAPS) headquarters following a successful Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application.
“The unit is even more convinced that Mbalula has a case to answer to. After a cursory inspection of the evidence, it is abundantly clear that the decision not to prosecute Mbalula was irrational. The evidence suggests collusion between witnesses and the SAPS; a failure to obtain statements from important witnesses and possible suspects; a failure to obtain valuable records and data; and poor cooperation between the SAPS and prosecutors,”
said Barry Bateman, spokesperson for the AfriForum specialised unit.
Mkhwebane’s Response
On Friday morning, Mkhwebane spoke to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, highlighting her concerns over the NPA’s decision.
“It was shocking to discover that the National Prosecuting Authority decided not to prosecute because there was evidence which we relied on as the Public Protector that Mr Mbalula received that free donation which he later turned into a loan. That was also paid in cash, and we were questioning the R150,000 cash which he paid to a travel agent. He was alleging that he is paying back R680,000 which he got from Sedgars, the company which paid for his family trip,”
Mkhwebane stated.
“I think that violated the financial intelligence laws because as a South African, there is an amount of cash which you are allowed to be carrying around. We wanted them to look into that part, but then they decided not to prosecute.”
Mkhwebane, now serving as a Member of Parliament for the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), insisted that the NPA should have examined whether the funds used for Mbalula’s family trip to Dubai were illicit or involved money laundering.
Previously, Mahanjana from the NPA had clarified that Mkhwebane’s referral was to investigate whether the trip was funded through money laundering,
“with the view to prosecute anyone who may have been involved in criminal activities.”
A case was indeed opened at the Brooklyn police station. Mahanjana explained:
“After police investigations, guided by the prosecutors in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Unit (SCCU) office, and the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) office, a decision to decline to prosecute anyone in this matter was taken, as there is no evidence supporting allegations of criminal activity,”
she said.
Mkhwebane’s investigation had concluded that Mbalula’s actions were unconstitutional. She noted that it was improper for Mbalula to enter into a “loan agreement” with Yusuf Dockrat, a director at Sedgars, which supplies sports apparel to SASCOC.
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