Johannesburg - "The courts are with Ramaphosa.”
These are the alleged chilling words of former MP and minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson to Mandla Skosana, the husband of suspended Public Protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane in one of the two meetings she had with him, says Mkhwebane.
Mkhwebane, in the company of her husband, legal representative and advocate Dali Mpofu, at a media briefing in Sandton yesterday, addressed allegations of bribery against Joemat-Pettersson, ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina, and chairperson of the Section 194 inquiry Richard Dyantyi, who have been implicated in soliciting a R600 000 bribe from Skosana.
Independent Media recently reported that Skosana opened a case of bribery against the three Members of Parliament with the OR Tambo International Airport police, which is where two of the meetings between himself and Joemat-Pettersson reportedly took place in March this year.
Mkhwebane also played key audio recordings in which Joemat-Pettersson, who served on the committee but was not an active member, sought bribes of R200 000 and was heard talking to Skosana about arranging a payment of R600 000 or R200 000 each to the accused trio.
She said that this happened after Joemat-Pettersson attended the inquiry for the first time and went on to request the contact numbers of Mkhwebane’s husband, which were given to her by one of the officials in Parliament.
In one of the recordings, she can be heard saying: “These people are dangerous; they can kill. If you go ahead with this exposé, it will be over for me. My life would be over.”
In another recording, Joemat-Pettersson tells Skosana that after April, there would be no oral evidence presented in the impeachment inquiry, only written statements, so as to ensure that the impeachment process achieved a pre-determined outcome against Mkhwebane.
“After April, there will be no oral evidence. It will only be affidavits. They say that for the closing arguments, there must be written closing arguments,” she is quoted as saying.
The two also discuss how much would be the ideal payment for the alleged bribery to make the impeachment process against her “go away”.
However, although Dyantyi and Majodina are mentioned in one of the recordings as being parties to the scheme, the two have since publicly denied the allegations.
Skosana has filed a complaint with the police, and Mkhwebane, after being so advised by National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, filed a complaint with the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests.
When asked what her understanding was of Joemat-Pettersson’s assertion that President Cyril Ramaphosa had the courts on his side, Mkhwebane said it was clear that the country’s justice system had been corrupted.
“These people are dangerous; they can kill. If you go ahead with this exposé, it will be over for me. My life would be over.
AUDIO RECORDING RELEASED BY BUSISIWE MKHWEBANE
PP plays incriminating recording of R600 000 bribe bid
She said this was evidenced by the many negative reports in the media, as well as the favourable findings some leaders received in the country’s courts.
She said these bribery attempts against her through her husband indicated symmetric state capture as all three arms of the state were implicated.
“I have invited you today to inform you about the biggest scandal to ever hit the democratic Parliament of South Africa. Sadly, the scandal implicates, directly and indirectly, the executive and judiciary of South Africa. For the first time, we can talk about state capture because all three arms of the state, aided and abetted by the media, are deeply implicated in the concerted effort to violate my rights and those of the public I am appointed to serve,” she said.
She said the impeachment process against her had been engineered from above, adding that all her problems started when she sent Ramaphosa the 31 questions in July last year. Mkhwebane said he was conflicted in the matter, which was why he ordered her suspension.
“All my problems began when I started investigating Phala Phala. I believe I am being persecuted for Phala Phala. This report is not out yet. The challenges I am currently facing are a result of that, and this has been confirmed by the Western Cape High Court judgment, and yes, I do believe that the inquiry and my challenges were engineered from the highest office,” she said.
She added that Joemat-Pettersson, who died last week under mysterious circumstances after she was implicated in this bribery claim, would still be alive if she had been subjected to an impeachment inquiry and suspended.
“The late Tina Joemat-Pettersson would still be alive if the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary, as well as the ANC/DA alliance, had complied with their constitutional obligations. In a way, all these institutions killed Ms Joemat-Pettersson,” she said.
Mkhwebane’s exposé comes after reports indicated that four members of the committee for the Section 194 inquiry had recused themselves to ensure the fairness of the proceedings.
Mkhwebane said that her legal team had received a call from this committee in a bid to stop her from releasing the audio recordings. However, she said she had no other choice but to release the recordings.
In response, Majodina said: “I said from the onset that I know nothing about these wild allegations by whoever. Mentioning of my name by whoever does not confirm that I know these allegations. No further comments. I’m still awaiting concrete evidence that links me to this.”
Dyantyi has refused to comment, while attempts to get comment from presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya proved unsuccessful.
The Star