By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Civil rights organisation AfriForum has written to newly appointed National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Advocate Andy Mothibi, requesting the NPA to reconsider the prosecution of African National Congress (ANC) secretary general Fikile Mbalula.
Afriforum wants NPA to prosecute Mbalula for alleged fraud, money laundering and corruption.
The organisation released its report detailing various claims of fraud, money laundering and corruption against Mbalula, titled the Mbalula Dossier, which also claims that Mbalula is exposing South Africa to US punitive measures through “defiant and insulting statements” against Western countries.
Afriforum argues that Mbalula should be held accountable locally by NPA and internationally through US sanctions.
The lobby group said it had made attempts to speak to the ANC about the economic costs to Mbalula’s ambitions for presidency.
“It seems like Mbalula is hell-bent for the benefit of his own aspirations to become the leader of the ANC to harm the country. That is why we are taking this stance,” said Afriforum CEO Kallie Kriel.
The dossier would assist in arguing for private prosecutions and for US lawmakers to sanction Mbalula under the Magnitsky Act, which allows individual sanctions, he said.
“At the moment, AfriForum, under the Solidarity movement, is working very hard to try and solve the conflict with the US. That’s why we were in the US to ask, ‘do not punish South Africa if you are angry with ANC politicians’,” Kriel said.
Ernst van Zyl, AfriForum’s head of public relations, said Mbalula was infamous for a trail of corruption allegations, poor service delivery, sabotage of diplomatic relations with the US and racist hatred for white South Africans.
He said Mbalula’s record included the largest spike in murders, gender-based violence cases and cash-in-transit heists while he was minister of police from 2017 to 2018.
Mbalula oversaw the collapse of rail infrastructure with a decline of passenger trips from 209 million to 39 million while he was minister of transport from 2019 to 2023, Van Zyl said.
“And now under his watch as ANC secretary general it also appears this reverse Midas touch has followed him. It is reported the ANC is now ranked as the 16th most corrupt organisation in the world. This happened under his watch,” said van Zyl.
He accused Mbalula of policy extremism in calling for expropriation without compensation, the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank and for praising Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF land policy.
“Mbalula has expressed his and the ANC’s support multiple times for regimes with horrific human rights records such as the ones in North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba and Iran,” Van Zyl said.
He criticised Mbalula’s meeting with leaders of Hamas and his support for former International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor in her genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Gerrie Nel, AfriForum’s head of private prosecutions, said it has been seeking to hold Mbalula accountable for his 2016 Dubai holiday, which cost R680 000 since January 2022.
The trip, he said, was paid for by Sedgars’ sport director Yusuf Dockrat, a supplier to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympics committee.
“We are saying to the NPA, because now we have the case docket, your decision not to prosecute is irrational and is not in terms of the law. It is a deliberate misunderstanding of the definition of corruption,” said Nel.
He likened Mbalula’s case to recent testimony from the Madlanga commission of Inquiry where an alleged R70 000 loan to the South African Police Service’s head of organised crime, Richard Shibiri, by businessperson and leader of the Big Five cartel Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala was paid after the fact.
Nel claimed the NPA had been hesitant to prosecute Mbalula owing to his political position, despite AfriForum’s assertion of a strong prima facie case that corruption, fraud and money laundering were committed in relation to the payment for a Dubai holiday that Mbalula and his family took in December 2016.
“No one should be immune from prosecution simply because they hold a senior position. Therefore, AfriForum will continue to consider private prosecution against Mbalula should the NPA decide not to prosecute him,” he said.
AfriForum has also opened a crimen injuria case against Mbalula for statements against Bergview College principal Jaco Pieterse, who was falsely accused of raping a 7-year-old girl. Nel said AfriForum was looking at developing the law to privately prosecute politicians such as Mbalula for corruption.
Meanwhile, the ANC rejected with contempt AfriForum’s Dossier, describing it as a politically motivated smear campaign that aims to isolate Mbalula.
The ANC described AfriForum as “a reactionary organisation that has long positioned itself as an enemy of transformation, nonracialism and the democratic will of the South African people”.