News24 | AfriForum’s bid to have him prosecuted for Dubai trip is a ‘political campaign’, Mbalula says

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.

• AfriForum wants ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula to be prosecuted for his trip to Dubai in 2016.
• The lobby group contends that his use of a “loan” to pay towards the trip amounts to “gratification”, as defined in the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.
• But Mbalula described the lobby group’s efforts as a “political campaign”.

A “political campaign” were the words ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula used to described AfriForum’s request for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to reconsider prosecuting him over his 2016 trip to Dubai.

In a letter to the NPA, the lobby group’s private prosecutions unit head, Gerrie Nel, said the “loan” Mbalula had taken from Sedgars Sports’ Yusuf Dockrat to pay part of the bill for the trip amounted to gratification.

During his time as the sports minister, Mbalula’s family was the alleged beneficiaries of a R150 000 cash payment to a travel agency by a Boxing SA chief executive, which was used towards the Dubai trip, according to reports.

But in a statement, Mbalula accused AfriForum of trying to “resuscitate a matter that has long been investigated, reviewed, and closed by the competent” NPA.

Mbalula added that the Public Protector, police and Parliament’s ethics committee had already put the matter to bed.

“I reiterate that there were no unlawful actions on my part in this regard,” Mbalula said.

“It is therefore disingenuous for AfriForum to now embark on a sensational trial through media leaks and briefings. They are deliberately abusive, with [a] vindictive agenda.

“What cannot be accepted is an endless political campaign disguised as legal activism.”

Mbalula has since instructed his attorney to “pursue robust protection” of his legal rights.

According to the City Press report, by 2016, Mbalula’s travel bill had wracked up a debt of R684 000 and a year later Dockrat, a director at Sedgars Sport - which was a service provider for the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, paid R300 000 of Mbalula’s debt.

The remainder was paid by other people, including Tsholofelo Lejaka, a Boxing SA executive and Mbalula’s friend.

Nel, after reviewing the SAPS docket, observed that Mbalula only repaid the R300 000 “loan” to Dockrat after the media started asking questions about it.

In a letter to NPA head, advocate Shamila Batohi, Nel said he deemed the decision not to prosecute him as irrational.

He added that the loan fell squarely within the definition of “gratification” in the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, and that Sedgars wasn’t a financial services provider.

Nel added that Mbalula had failed to disclose the “loan” amount to Parliament.