‘Comply with court order or face jail’: DA warns Mbalula over cadre deployment records

The DA has given the ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula an ultimatum to hand over all necessary documents, e-mails and WhatsApp messages concerning the ANC’s cadre deployment meetings or go to prison.

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In a statement, the DA’s leader John Steenhuisen said while the ANC had handed over documents as compelled by the Constitutional Court there was missing information, which included correspondence with President Cyril Ramaphosa who was the head of the ANC cadre deployment committee during the state capture years.

ANC accused of protecting Ramaphosa

According to Steenhuisen, the ANC extensively redacted the documents despite not being entitled to do so by the court order. They have provided no information for a five-year period during which Ramaphosa was the Cadre Deployment Committee chairman and failed to mention this in their court papers.

“They failed to provide a list of all decisions taken by the cadre deployment committee, as ordered by the court, they impermissibly restricted communication disseminated during the year 2020 and they furnished illegible documents,” Steenhuisen said.

ALSO READ: Cadre deployment: Mbalula slams ‘propaganda machine’ DA, accuses it of dishonesty

He alleged the ANC destroyed documents while the matter was pending before the court.

“They failed to adequately explain the steps taken to locate the information, including all information from President Ramaphosa himself as chairperson of the committee and thus recipient of any and all information and documents pertaining to it,” said Steenhuisen.

Steenhuisen alleged the ANC failed to provide minutes that were not formally adopted, even though the court order obliges the party to hand over all relevant information.

ANC faces contempt of court charges

Lawyers for the DA have written to the ANC two days before the party launches their elections manifesto, this weekend, asking them to comply with the court order or face being in contempt of court.

“We will use the precedent created in the Jacob Zuma case, when he was sent to prison for similarly being in contempt of a Constitutional Court order. Finally, we will pursue criminal charges against ANC officials involved in the destruction of information as part of a blatant cover-up campaign to try and wipe Ramaphosa’s fingerprints off of the cadre deployment records,” said Steenhuisen.