Mpofu fumes that SA is being hypocritical about Mahlangu and Hlongwa

EFF national chairperson Advocate Dali Mpofu has called it hypocrisy that the election of Qedani Mahlangu and Brian Hlongwa to the ANC Gauteng provincial executive committee (PEC) has received criticism while President Cyril Ramaphosa’s was widely supported.

Mpofu’s comments come after Mahlangu and Hlongwa were elected to the PEC at the weekend despite a pall of controversy hanging over their time in provincial government.

Mahlangu was blamed, along with two senior department officials, for the plight of 144 Life Esidimeni psychiatric patients who died as a result of being illegally transferred by the department into the care of ill-equipped and unqualified nongovernmental organisations.

Mahlangu resigned over the issue and later apologised to the families during the arbitration process, headed by retired former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke.

But opposition parties demanded that Mahlangu, along with the former department head, Barney Selebano, and former mental health chief Makgabo Manamela be held personally accountable for the tragedy.

Hlongwa was implicated in a Special Investigating Unit probe into corruption amounting to R1.2 billion, which also involved the purchase and rebuilding of a luxury mansion in a gated community.

This was allegedly part of kickbacks Hlongwa and a few of his health department officials received from companies that did business with the provincial health department during his tenure as MEC.

They were also allegedly offered various trips funded by 3P Consulting firm between 2006 to 2009, of which the SIU report found “no evidence of Hlongwa declaring the trips or paying/ reimbursing 3P Consulting for these trips”.

Hlongwa has denied any wrongdoing, simply dismissing the allegations.

The EFF chairperson said backing Ramaphosa’s election as state president while being critical of that of Hlongwa and Mahlangu to the PEC is hypocritical because of the president’s link to the Lonmin strike in Marikana that resulted in the tragic fatal shooting by police of 34 striking mineworkers on August 16, 2012.

Last week, Mpofu accused Ramaphosa of being behind the murder of Mgcineni ‘Mambush’ Noki who was at the forefront of the Lonmin strike.

READ MORE: Dali Mpofu suggests EFF will boycott Obama’s Mandela lecture

At the time of the Marikana Massacre, Ramaphosa was a nonexecutive director at Lonmin who had communicated with then police minister Nathi Mthethwa and then mineral resources minister Susan Shabangu to beef up police presence at the mine in the wake of the violence days before the massacre.

However, the Marikana commission of inquiry was of the view that Ramaphosa had not been the cause of the fatal shootings on August 16, 2012, and so could not be found guilty of the alleged crimes.

Meanwhile, the newly elected ANC provincial chairperson, David Makhura, and his deputy, Panyaza Lesufi, said no stone would be left unturned when dealing with the issues surrounding Mahlangu and Hlongwa, who is currently ANC chief whip.

Additional reporting, Eric Naki

ALSO READ: The Esidimeni dead haunt Mahlangu, while a mansion haunts Hlongwa

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