Gigaba plays the blame game and should be booted

Home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba’s refusal to take responsibility for anything whatsoever is just one more reason he should be fired from cabinet. “It wasn’t me”, “I don’t know” and “it’s a devious plot” are his standard ‘go to’ responses to every issue he is asked to explain. The other reasons he should be fired are obvious. He has been implicated in numerous scandals including the naturalisation of Gupta family members, the Transnet locomotive scandal and other state capture projects.

His disastrous personal infidelities and sexual proclivities have also been on public display to the acute embarrassment of all except, it seems, himself. While private indiscretions should arguably not impact public political lives, the minister’s cringeworthy sex video may be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s – to date – titanium back.

A cabinet minister should have gravitas and a demeanour and reputation that earns international respect. He should certainly not be the target of hilarity, memes and mockery which Gigaba has become.

The public no longer has reason to trust him. He is a liar who thinks nothing of perjuring himself before a court of law.

His assertions in the Fireblade Aviation case were described variously by the court as “disingenuous, spurious and fundamentally flawed, laboured and meritless, bad in law, astonishing, palpably untrue, untenable and not sustained by objective evidence, uncreditworthy and nonsensical”.

This was confirmed by both the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court which both found an appeal against these findings would have no prospect of success. In short, the minister’s moral compass is broken and, metaphorically speaking, he couldn’t find true north if he was pointed in its direction and set on the correct path. Gigaba has refused to follow the example of his far more honourable colleague Nhlanhla Nene. On the contrary, asked if he would resign he said he could not. “I did not deploy myself as minister. I was deployed by ANC so it’s not for me to say I am stepping down. I serve at the pleasure of the president.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa must express his displeasure with this mampara and boot him out.

The public no longer has reason to trust him. He’s a liar who thinks nothing of perjuring himself before court