Dlamini was found by the inquiry to have falsely claimed that she did not attend meetings of workstreams as the minister despite evidence that she had ordered that workstreams report directly to her on the social grants saga.
A few ANCWL members donning party regalia braved the rain and chanted outside the court's entrance as proceedings continued in downtown Johannesburg.
Most of those present in court had, like Dlamini, been staunch backers of former president Jacob Zuma and had expressed support to both the former head of state and Magashule in their battles against their criminal cases before the courts.
Other ANC members present in court included spokesperson of the now disbanded MKMVA, Carl Niehaus.
Inside the courtroom, Dlamini remained mostly glued to her phone in the dock as magistrate Betty Khumalo delivered the judgment.
Khumalo's delivery of the verdict was, however, interrupted after the court recording machine malfunctioned, forcing the proceedings to be briefly adjourned.
“I cannot continue now. If the problem continues we will be forced to move to another courtroom,” Khumalo said.
ANCWL president Bathabile Dlamini in court to hear verdict over social grants distribution crisis
A number of senior party leaders sympathetic to her came out to support her
Image: Thapelo Morebudi
Embattled ANC Women's League (ANCWL) president Bathabile Dlamini appeared in the Johannesburg magistrate's court on Wednesday for the judgment in her perjury case.
A number of senior party leaders sympathetic to her came out to support her.
These included suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo and national executive committee member Tony Yengeni.
When asked about their presence in court, both Magashule and Mahumapelo said they wanted to hear first-hand the much-anticipated verdict against Dlamini.
The Constitutional Court had recommended that Dlamini be investigated for perjury after an inquiry it instituted into the social grants distribution crisis found her to have given false evidence under oath in relation to her role in the fiasco as then social development minister.
The apex court had declared the social grants distribution contract between Sassa and Cash Paymaster Services to be invalid but suspended the invalidity to enable the department to build alternative capacity to distribute the grants to its 18-million recipients.
D-Day for Bathabile Dlamini in perjury case
Dlamini was found by the inquiry to have falsely claimed that she did not attend meetings of workstreams as the minister despite evidence that she had ordered that workstreams report directly to her on the social grants saga.
A few ANCWL members donning party regalia braved the rain and chanted outside the court's entrance as proceedings continued in downtown Johannesburg.
Most of those present in court had, like Dlamini, been staunch backers of former president Jacob Zuma and had expressed support to both the former head of state and Magashule in their battles against their criminal cases before the courts.
Other ANC members present in court included spokesperson of the now disbanded MKMVA, Carl Niehaus.
Inside the courtroom, Dlamini remained mostly glued to her phone in the dock as magistrate Betty Khumalo delivered the judgment.
Khumalo's delivery of the verdict was, however, interrupted after the court recording machine malfunctioned, forcing the proceedings to be briefly adjourned.
“I cannot continue now. If the problem continues we will be forced to move to another courtroom,” Khumalo said.
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