Auditor-General’s accuser axed for gross misconduct
The Auditor-General’s head of human resources — or Chief People Officer (CPO) — Mlungisi Mabaso was dismissed on Wednesday after an independent disciplinary hearing found him guilty of “gross misconduct” and “gross dishonesty”. Mabaso was suspended in July after he unleashed a string of allegations against Tsakani Maluleke, the Auditor-General (AG).
The story begins when, according to the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA), Mabaso had a meeting with Maluleke on 27 June in which he accused her of corruption. Mabaso made nine claims against the AG. Most of the alleged incidents took place while she was deputy and dealt with payments allegedly made to the former AG, Kimi Makwetu.
Maluleke served as deputy from 2014 and took over after Makwetu’s death in 2020.
The AGSA said that, during this meeting, Mabaso tried in effect to blackmail Maluleke, telling her he “wanted mutual separation on condition he received a financial settlement”, in exchange for him not going public with his allegations.
The AG made Mabaso’s claims public in a statement last month. Mabaso was suspended on 5 July pending an investigation by the law firm Bowmans into his alleged blackmail and Maluleke’s alleged corruption.
The legal opinion, heard in Parliament on 16 September, cleared Maluleke of wrongdoing and recommended that Mabaso’s conduct in making the allegations be investigated for possible disciplinary proceedings.
On Thursday, 29 September the AGSA said Mabaso had been charged with gross misconduct for threatening Maluleke, making accusations against her and stating that he could cause her harm.
“He also attempted to extort an unauthorised gratification from the Auditor-General in exchange for not disclosing the allegations,” the AGSA went on to say. This was in contravention of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.
Mabaso was also charged with “violating his suspension conditions by sending a letter to several staff members without authorisation”, said the AGSA, adding that he was charged with “gross dishonesty” after it emerged during his disciplinary process that he had lied on his CV.
On 21 September, Mabaso “elected not to participate” and walked out of the independent disciplinary inquiry after the inquiry chairperson, advocate Emmanuel Motuku, declined his request for a postponement, according to the AGSA’s statement. The inquiry took place in his absence, where the AGSA’s evidence was uncontested.
Motuku found Mabaso guilty of all charges and recommended summary dismissal.
“We have undertaken a very painful process, which has taken a toll on the AGSA and its reputation,” said the deputy AG, Vonani Chauke.
When contacted for comment, Mabaso called the disciplinary hearing a “farce”.
“They refused me access to my laptop, which contained an audio recording of the conversation I had with the AG on 27 June … information which was critical for my defence [to] prove allegations by the AG to be false,” Mabaso told DM168.
“I asked to be recused from the process as I felt it was an unfair process. When I realised that the process was unfair, I tendered my resignation, with immediate effect, on 22 September,” he said.