Ethics committee clears MPs of Mkhwebane bribery claims

Suspended public protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane has suffered yet another blow in parliament after the ethics committee cleared ANC MPs Pemmy Majodina and Richard Dyantyi of accusations that they tried to solicit a bribe from public protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s husband David Skosana.

Skosana alleged that the late Tina Joemat-Pettersson tried to solicit a bribe from him on behalf of Majodina and Dyantyi to influence the outcome of the section 194 committee into the fitness of Mkhwebane to hold office.

Dyantyi chaired the committee, while Majodina is the ANC chief whip in parliament.

After receiving complaints related to the bribery allegations, the ethics committee on Thursday cleared the pair, saying the complaint against Majodina and Dyantyi was unfounded.

Its findings were based on the fact that the version of events Skosana provided to the SAPS, on which the complaint was based, do not directly mention Majodina and Dyantyi.

The recording of a conversation purported to be between Joemat-Pettersson and Skosana does not mention Majodina and Dyantyi.

This is the recording in which Joemat-Pettersson is purported to have solicited a bribe from Skosana allegedly on behalf of Majodina and Dyantyi.

The committee also found that the parts of evidence provided by Skosana, of his WhatsApp conversations between him and Joemat-Pettersson, “appear to be missing and therefore may not be a true reflection of the communication between them”.

“Therefore, the committee found that the evidence before it does not provide a conclusion on the probability that the two MPs solicited a bribe of R200,000 in respect of the section 914 inquiry. Therefore, the committee found that the complaint is unfounded, and that Mr Dyantyi and Ms Majodina did not breach the code,” said the ethics committee through a statement issued by its chair Lydia Moshodi.

“Regarding the complaint against the late Ms Joemat-Pettersson, item 3.1 of the code clearly states that it applies to MPs. Ms Joemat-Pettersson ceased to be an MP from the date of her death on June 5 2023. Accordingly, the complaint against Ms Joemat-Pettersson does not fall within the committee’s jurisdiction.

Mkhwebane had also laid a complaint against nNational aAssembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, claiming that she contravened the parliament’s ethics code.

Mkhwebane claimed, among other things, that Mapisa-Nqakula’s decision to turn down a meeting request with her as a whistle-blower, disclosing her identity and the contents of her complaint without obtaining permission, exposed her to potential danger. 

Mkhwebane also claimed that Mapisa-Nqakula unfairly gave advantaged Majodina and Dyantyi an advantage by disclosing details of the complaint against them. 

This, Mkhwebane claimed, made Mapisa-Nqakula an accomplice in the alleged transgressions of the duo.

The ethics committee, however, dismissed Mkhwebane’s complaint against Mapisa-Nqakula, saying the details of the complaint and whistle-blower information were leaked to the media emanating from a criminal case laid by Skosana.

“Furthermore, the committee found that Adv Mkhwebane’s own affidavit acknowledged that the complaint made by Mr David Skosana to the South African Police Service [SAPS] was leaked to the media. Therefore, details of the intended complaint, as accepted by Adv Mkhwebane, were made public by SAPS and not by Ms Mapisa-Nqakula. As a result, the committee found the complaint unfounded and that the speaker did not breach the code,” the committee said. –

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