Former Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini will have to face punitive justice for her role in the SASSA scandal of 2017, a Johannesburg Central Magistrate ruled on Wednesday.
Bathabile Dlamini found GUILTY of perjury
After weeks of arguments heard from both sides of the bench, Magistrate Betty Khumalo determined that Dlamini had lied under oath in her testimony at the 2017 inquiry into the SASSA crisis that left millions of social grant beneficiaries at risk of losing monthly payments due to a dubious deal with Cash Payments Services (CPS).
Judge President Bernard Ngoepe, who chaired the inquiry, had summoned Dlamini to testify on her knowledge of the questionable R4.6 billion two-year agreement SASSA almost entered into with CPS and, in a report filed to Gauteng director of public prosecutions Advocate Andrew Chauke, found that Dlamini “not only failed in her duties as minister but also failed to disclose information to the inquiry for fear of being held liable for the 2017 crisis.”
In court, Dlamini’s defence lawyers tried to downplay the former minister’s culpability by claiming that since her lies were told under Section 38 proceedings, “the honourable court cannot find the accused guilty of perjury because the ‘false’ statements were made at the Section 38 inquiry and not in the course of judicial proceedings before a competent tribunal.”
After considering both sides of the argument, Magistrate Khumalo determined the State had proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the former minister had lied under oath to evade accountability for what was almost the worst social grants crisis of modern times in South Africa.
It is unclear, at this stage, if Dlamini will face imprisonment for her crimes.
This is a developing story.