Fikile Mbalula under fire for R684,000 luxury trip with accusations of corruption and money laundering

Afriforum has said that the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision not to prosecute ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula for his trip to Dubai in 2016 is a case of selective prosecution.

This is where a suspect is shielded from prosecution because of their political status.

Although the alleged crime in question occurred in 2016, AfriForum recently gained access to the docket from the investigation into the matter.

“We believe the representations are comprehensive and make out a clear case of corruption and money laundering,” AfriForum Private Prosecutions Unit Communications Manager Barry Bateman told Newsday.

“A draft charge sheet was included in the docket – a prosecutor was prepared to prosecute. What changed? We will consider a private prosecution if the National Director of Public Prosecutions declines to prosecute.”

The matter in question is whether the sums of money received by Mbalula for a family holiday in Dubai nearly a decade ago constitute gratification.

Gratification in the legal context refers to any benefit or gift that a person receives that may influence their conduct.

According to a report by the City Press, Mbalula’s Dubai getaway cost over R684,000, which he did not pay a cent towards while Minister of Sport and Recreation.

With Mbalula struggling to cover his debt with Munlin Travel, Yusuf Dockrat, who was a director at Sedgars Sports at the time, is alleged to have contributed R300,000 towards the outstanding amount.

Sedgars Sports was a service provider to the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee at the time.

Other parties have also been alleged to have made contributions to Mbalula’s outstanding amount, including R150,000 from then Boxing SA CEO Tsholofelo Lejaka.

Mbalula later argued that the money received from Dockrat was a loan and that he was paying it back with interest.

“There is ample evidence in the docket to support a prosecution on corruption and money laundering,” Bateman said.

“We don’t believe the Sedgars’ payment to settle Mbalula’s debt with the travel agent was a loan. The timeline demonstrates this. In any event, a ‘loan’ is defined as a form of gratification as per PRECCA.”

Mbalula’s response

Mbalula said that AfriForum’s allegations are part of an “endless political campaign disguised as legal activism.

He argued that the National Prosecuting Authority, Parliament’s Ethics Committee, the South African Police Service, and the Public Protector had concluded that there was no conflict of interest.

“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,” the ANC secretary general said.

“No person should be prosecuted through media leaks and narrow special interest groups.”

This comes just a few days after Mbalula told members of his party that there will be no support for those who face allegations of corruption.

Speaking on those implicated by the Madlanga Commission, he said that all “those mentioned will have the right to reply and an opportunity to clear their names in line with our constitutional values of fairness and justice.”

“No member of the ANC has ever been given a mandate to be corrupt. Any member who engages in corruption stands alone, outside the traditions, values and discipline of the ANC.”

He added that the party will never defend corruption and instead “expose it, confront it, and defeat it. Those who betrayed the people for personal gain will be isolated.”