Cape Town – Former Social Development Minister, who is also the African National Congress (ANC) Women’s League president, Bathabile Dlamini, has been sentenced to four years in prison or a R200 000 fine for perjury.
She was sentenced on Friday morning.
Dlamini was found guilty of perjury by Magistrate Betty Khumalo for lying under oath during a 2017 inquiry into the social grants debacle at the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) that saw millions of grant beneficiaries unsure if they would receive their money.
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According to EWN, should she be imprisoned, two years of the sentence will be suspended.
During a court hearing last month, Dlamini’s lawyer Tshepiso Mphahlane had reportedly pleaded with the magistrate’s court to be “lenient” on his client, saying she was a single mother who had to take care of her children along with her extended family.
The State, on the other hand, called for a hefty fine or even a harsh sentence against her, according to IOL.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
