By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula on Thursday opened a crimen injuria and defeating the ends of justice case against Mthunzi Mdwaba, former chair of Productivity SA and CEO of Thuja Capital.
Mdwaba has accused Mbalula and the ministers of labour, finance and higher education of sending people to him in an attempt to solicit a bribe of R500m from the proceeds of R5bn his company would have received for an Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) jobs scheme.
Mbalula opened a case at the Sandton police station on Thursday morning.
“I have this morning instructed my lawyers to send a letter of demand to Mthunzi Mdwaba – should he fail to retract all these malicious and defamatory statements about me, my legal team will approach our courts to compel him and seek appropriate relief on top of the case of crimen injuria that I have opened,” Mbalula said.
“Our society, our families, and our children should not be subjected to acrimonious, malicious, and reckless statements causing irreparable, emotional, and psychological harm.”
Mbalula said while he knows the businessman, he has never done any business deals with him.
“I know Mthunzi Mdwaba. I won’t deny I know him. He is not my friend. He is not my business friend. He knows me.
“I have never had under-carpet dealings with him anywhere, and I am saying it here in public, never.
“When I was Minister of Sports, he was a health fanatic who was cycling, and he used to give me tips because I was cycling myself.
“I have never had any dealings with him,” he said.
Mbalula emphasised that Mdwaba, who is currently under investigation for trying to redirect funds from the government coffers to his private company, should rather focus on clearing his name instead of fomenting.
Minister of Labour and Employment Thulas Nxesi has also issued a statement disputing the allegations.
“The allegations are completely unsupported by facts or any piece of evidence,” Nxesi said.
Thuja Capital Fund only existed on paper, with no premises, website nor track record and Mdwaba is listed as one of its director.
The other two people listed as directors of Thuja Capital Fund are Mdwaba’s son Litha, a rapper, and Alta Roets.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) fund is managed by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which means it’s effectively invested in corporate SA.