ANC must root out rotten apples

Sometimes, the universe has a wicked sense of humour and it is particularly satisfying when miscreants realise that karma isn’t a brand of margarine.

That’s what an ANC bigwig painfully discovered this week when his attempt to bully a former colleague backfired spectacularly.

Emfuleni local municipality supply chain manager Jason Mkhwane got into a serious huff when he was labelled as a “looter” by his ex-colleague, the municipality’s former chief financial officer, Andile Dyakala.

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Dyakala made the claim on a work WhatsApp group and Mkhwane lawyered up, suing him for defamation. But at the end of a long and complex case full of intricate legal arguments and some damning evidence against Mkhwane, High Court in Johannesburg Judge Stuart Wilson found that the description of Mkhwane as a “looter” was “fair comment on true facts”.

In the judgment, Stuart found the Mkhwane had told Dyakala that certain contracts and tenders in the municipality should only be awarded to companies favoured by the ANC.

Effectively, what the judgment does is side with a whistle-blower.

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These rare individuals are often afraid of speaking out or coming forward to reveal corruption. In the case of Gauteng department of health whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, those fears were justified – she was gunned down while investigating massive corruption and theft.

The timing of Stuart’s judgment is also fortuitous, as President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged at the opening of parliament last night to set South Africa back on a course to recovery… which will have to include a serious crackdown on the looters.

If the ANC is serious about corruption, it must start rooting out the rotten apples in its midst – and it can do no better than start with Mkhwane.

The “true fact” is also that there are plenty more like him out there.