AFRIFORUM has intensified its call for the prosecution of the ANC Secretary General, Mr. Fikile Mbalula, demanding that he be prosecuted for his trip to Dubai. The organization said it will personally prosecute Mbalula if the prosecution unit, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), continues to drag its feet.
AfriForum wants Mbalula to be prosecuted for the R600 000 trip he took in 2016, when he was Minister of Sports. Mbalula’s trip was paid for by the company that had a tender in the association, the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), Sedgars Sports.
This raised questions as Sascoc is under the Department which was managed by Mbalula at the time but Mbalula said he had been told this money. Yesterday, AfriForum released a document containing the history and evidence in the case.
The head of prosecution at AfriForum, Advocate Gerrie Nel, said that the NPA has been playing hide and seek on this issue for a long time. He said they have written to the new director of prosecution, Advocate Andy Mothibi, requesting that the NPA prosecute Mbalula.
“We hope that there are steps that will be taken by the NPA. We know that the NPA has a new manager who promises that they will make decisions quickly. If the NPA does not make a decision quickly, we will prosecute Mbalula secretly. According to the document, we see that there is enough evidence for Mbalula to be prosecuted.”
The CEO of AfriForum, Mr. Kallie Kriel, said that they want the American government to take action against Mbalula.
“Mbalula is really reckless. While we are trying to put out the fire, he forgot to insult the American ambassador. People will suffer if America decides to sneer at us. The people who will be hit the hardest are the poor. Mbalula does not care about all this. The only thing he cares about is running his campaign to lead the ANC. He says anything that will help the ANC in the upcoming local government elections.”
Mbalula and the ANC said that AfriForum is threatening with a dead snake. In a post on social media, Mbalula described AfriForum’s announcement as a joke.
“They like to use big words. They said they will release a document with evidence. But do they know what a document with evidence is?”
The spokesperson of the ANC, Mrs Mahlengi Bhengu, said that it is clear that AfriForum is fighting Mbalula because he does not agree with the interference of foreign countries in the country’s affairs.
“They held this forum after the ANC march which was a success. This march which was held on human rights day is disturbing AfriForum.”