Zondo to lay criminal charge against Dudu Myeni for outing Mr X

The chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, announced on Friday that a criminal complaint against former South African Airways (SAA) board chair Dudu Myeni would be lodged for revealing the identity of a witness.

Zondo had earlier instructed that the person’s identity should not be made public and he was thus referred to as “Mr X”.

He said he took the decision after reviewing Myeni’s affidavit explaining her conduct when she identified Mr X at the commission recently.

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Zondo said the police would investigate whether Myeni had been in contravention of Section 5 of the Commissions Act or regulation 9 of the inquiry’s regulations.

“That process will be taken forward urgently,” Zondo said.

Testifying at the commission on 5 November, Myeni revealed the identity of Mr X, the witness who alleged before the State Capture Commission that she had instructed him to transfer R1 million into the account of the Jacob G Zuma Foundation, which she chairs.

[Earlier] DCJ announces that Ms. Dudu Myeni who testified before the commission has disclosed an Identity of the witness that was not supposed to be disclosed, he says he has instructed the Secretary of the Commission to lay a charge against her. #StateCaptureInquiry

— State Capture Commission (@StateCaptureCom) November 27, 2020

Mr X testified at the commission earlier this year about various payments that were made into his business account, including three payments from Premier Attraction 1016 CC – a company Myeni’s son, Thalente, was a partner in.

Premier Attraction had made three payments into Mr X’s business account, including one that was done on 11 December 2015 and amounted to R1,150,000, the commission heard.

Mr X said this was followed by an instruction from Myeni to transfer R1 million into the account of the foundation

During her testimony earlier this month, Myeni questioned why Mr X’s identity was being hidden and went to claim that he was a relative before blurting out his name.

The commission continues on Friday with testimony from city of Johannesburg mayor, Geoff Makhubo.

ALSO READ: Zondo inquiry’s legal team wants Myeni charged for outing Mr X