Parliament’s ethics committee clears Dyantyi, Majodina of Mkhwebane bribery claims

Suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has suffered yet another blow.

This comes after African National Congress (ANC) MP Qubudile Dyantyi and chief whip Pemmy Majodina, accused of bribing Mkhwebane’s husband David Skosana, were cleared by Parliament’s Ethics Committee on Thursday.

The ethics committee announced its decision on the bribery allegations against the duo through a statement issued by its chair Lydia Moshodi.

Speculation

“The Committee noted that the version of events offered by Mr Skosana to the Saps which forms the basis of the complaint does not specifically mention the two Members of Parliament. There has been a lot of speculation and fanfare about the content of the audio recordings, but the audio recordings do not mention the two Members of Parliament.”

In the recordings, late ANC MP Tina Joemat-Pettersson is alleged to have solicited a bribe from Skosana on behalf of Majodina and Dyantyi.

Dyantyi chaired the committee, while Majodina is the ANC chief whip,

“The WhatsApp messages do not link the two Members of Parliament to the allegation. The WhatsApp messages and audio recordings seem to have missing parts of communication between Ms Joemat-Pettersson and Mr. Skosana and therefore may not be a true reflection of the communication between them,” the committee said.

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Evidence

The committee said the evidence was not conclusive

“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.

“The Committee found that the complaint is unfounded and that Hon Dyantyi, MP and Hon Majodina, MP did not breach the Code. The Committee Report will be actioned accordingly. The file in this matter is accordingly closed,” it said.

“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.”

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula complaint

Mkhwebane had also laid a complaint against National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, claiming she contravened the parliament’s ethics code when she unfairly gave Majodina and Dyantyi an advantage by disclosing details of the complaint against them.

Mkhwebane claimed Mapisa-Nqakula was an accomplice in the alleged transgressions of Dyantyi and Majodina

The ethics committee, however, dismissed Mkhwebane’s complaint against Mapisa-Nqakula.

“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.”

Impeachment vote

Mkhwebane wanted Dyantyi removed from the Section 194 inquiry due to allegations by Skosana, that Joemat-Pettersson – whose death is the subject of an inquest – tried to solicit bribes for herself, Dyantyi and Majodina in exchange for making Mkhwebane’s impeachment inquiry “go away.”

Skosana also opened a complaint with the police while Mkhwebane did so with Parliament’s ethics committee.

Meanwhile, MPs are expected to vote in the impeachment of Mkhwebane during next week’s parliamentary sitting on the 11^th of September

The Section 194 Committee recently adopted a final report which recommended Mkhwebane’s removal from office.

Mkhwebane was found guilty on all four charges of misconduct and incompetence following an inquiry into her fitness to hold office.

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