Fikile Mbalula to be privately prosecuted?

A significant step has been taken towards privately prosecuting ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula on charges of corruption relating to his 2016 family holiday to Dubai.

This is according to a media statement issued by AfriForum, which says its Private Prosecution Unit has collected the docket from SAPS headquarters after successfully filing a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application.

AfriForum directed a written request to the Public Protector (PP) on October 9, 2017, to launch an investigation into the alleged payment of at least R300 000 and possibly as much as R680 000 by Sedgars Sport, a sporting goods supplier, for Mbalula’s trip to Dubai with his family.

In December 2018, AfriForum welcomed the PP’s finding that Sedgars Sport paid for the holiday and that this constituted a conflict of interest. Mbalula was the national sports minister at the time. The PP also found that Mbalula acted in violation of the Constitution and the Executive Ethics Code.

The case was then referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further investigation.

In an article published by SAnews.gov.za in August 2023, the NPA said: “After police investigations, guided by the prosecutors in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Unit office, and the Director of Public Prosecutions office, a decision to decline to prosecute anyone in this matter was taken, as there is no evidence supporting allegations of criminal activity.”

AfriForum slammed the NPA over its decision not to prosecute. “The decision appears to be irrational and wrong by law,” it said at the time.

“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 co-operation between the SAPS and prosecutors.

“After identifying portions of the record that were not disclosed in compliance with PAIA, the Private Prosecution Unit will continue engagements to address this apparent oversight. This will allow the unit to exercise its constitutional right to access any state-held information where it is required for the exercise or protection of any right,” says AfriForum’s spokesperson Barry Bateman.

He says the team will now closely study the docket.

“Despite shortfalls, the evidence suggests Mbalula has several benefactors who fund his extravagant lifestyle. The question arises, why were these leads not followed up? Claims made in affidavits were accepted at face value and not scrutinised.

“Notably, a statement from one of Mbalula’s main benefactors was not included in the docket. We are shocked but not surprised because we warned the NPA of a clear conflict of interest because of the family relations with a senior NPA official. Mbalula’s matter may be the clearest case yet of selective prosecution, where a politically connected person and his well-to-do benefactors are sheltered from prosecution,” says Bateman.

When asked for comment by Caxton Local Media, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) spokesperson, Colonel Katlego Mogale, said: “The members of the DPCI did due diligence concerning the investigation. The members gathered and followed all the leads, hence the docket was thereafter referred for decision by the NPA. The NPA took the decision not prosecute… The DCPI investigated the matter and sent the docket for decision.”

Caxton Local Media also contacted the NPA for comment about the allegations made by AfriForum. However, no comment had been received from the NPA at the time of publishing.

• This article has been amended since first being published.