Mkhize rejects Apleni claims in court papers
• Home affairs director-general says in court papers that Mkhize does not have the power to suspend him
Home Affairs Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize has dismissed allegations levelled against her in court papers filed by the department’s suspended director-general. In a responding affidavit filed on her behalf by the department’s acting deputy director-general, Jackson McKay, claims made by Mkuseni Apleni in his urgent court application were described as bordering on “hysteria”. Apleni filed the application with the High Court in Pretoria after Mkhize placed him on suspension last week. The case is due to be heard on Tuesday.
Home Affairs Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize has dismissed allegations levelled against her in court papers filed by the department’s suspended director-general.
In a responding affidavit filed on her behalf by the department’s acting deputy directorgeneral, Jackson McKay, claims made by Mkuseli Apleni in his urgent court application were described as bordering on “hysteria”. Apleni filed the application with the High Court in Pretoria after Mkhize placed him on suspension last week. The matter is due to be heard on Tuesday.
He submitted that the reasons that motivated his suspension by the minister were invalid, irrational and procedurally unfair and she did not have the powers to suspend him — only the president could.
He also argued that key Department of Home Affairs projects would suffer delays in his absence.
The Presidency also responded to Apleni’s claims through its director-general, Cassius Lubisi, who said in his affidavit the application did not warrant urgency as it had failed explicitly to set out circumstances rendering it as such.
Lubisi said Apleni “misconstrues the jurisdictional facts” by attacking the minister’s powers to suspend him, arguing such powers had been delegated to ministers as per an annexure contained in the Senior Management Service Handbook.
The case comes just weeks after the Public Service Commission expressed “serious concern” over the high turnover of directors-general in government departments, saying that it harmed service delivery.
In the application, Apleni said the minister wanted him out of the way in order to settle a multimillion-rand litigation claim against the department.
He mentioned the R300m claim by Double Ring Trading‚ a company the department has accused of fraud, and an application by Fireblade Aviation, which operates a VVIP terminal at OR Tambo International Airport and is owned by the Oppenheimer family. Fireblade has been involved in protracted legal action after the department denied its requests to install immigration and customs services at the terminal.
While the Presidency said it could not respond to these allegations, McKay denied their veracity, explaining in part that there was no intention to settle the matters and that the state attorney had been instructed to oppose the claim by Double Ring.