Protector says Gigaba lied under oath

PUBLIC Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane found Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba violated the Constitution and executive ethics code when he told an “untruth under oath” in the Fireblade Aviation court battle.

Mkhwebane released her report during a media briefing at her offices in Pretoria yesterday.

“I found that the allegations that Minister Gigaba violated the Constitution and the executive ethics code when he told an untruth under oath was substantiated,” she said.

The complaint against Gigaba was lodged on February 22 by DA MP John Steenhuisen, and was accompanied by a judgment delivered by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

The case related to Gigaba’s decision to overturn the approval for the Oppenheimer-owned Fireblade Aviation to operate a private customs and immigration service at OR Tambo International Airport in Joburg.

The court found Gigaba had lied under oath and violated the Constitution by reneging on the approval.

“By telling a deliberate untruth on facts central to the decision of the case, the minister has committed a breach of the Constitution so serious that I could characterise it as a violation,” said Judge Neil Tuchten’s judgment.

Mkhwebane said before compiling her report she gave Gigaba 10 days to respond but he didn’t.

Mkhwebane said President Cyril Ramaphosa should take appropriate disciplinary action against Gigaba. | African News Agency (ANA)