Cape Town – The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has declined to pursue criminal charges against former Sport, Arts, and Culture Minister Fikile Mbalula regarding his family holiday in Dubai.
This decision came after a referral from the Public Protector, who asked the NPA to investigate whether the trip was funded by proceeds of money laundering.
“After police investigations, guided by the prosecutors in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Unit office, and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) office, a decision to decline to prosecute anyone in this matter was taken, as there is no evidence supporting allegations of criminal activity,” the NPA said on Wednesday.
Lobby group AfriForum laid criminal charges of money laundering and corruption against Mbalula at the Brooklyn police station in 2019.
The group said the criminal case against Mbalula stemmed from a 2018 Public Protector report into the then-Sport Minister’s family holiday to Dubai, which referred the matter to the NPA to “investigate whether the funds used to pay for the trip were not the proceeds of money-laundering”.
According to News24, the report found Sedgars Sport, a company that supplies sports uniforms for South Africa’s Olympic athletes and officials, had partially paid for Mbalula’s trip to Dubai between December 2016 and January 2017.
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While the entire trip was said to have cost R680 000, Sedgars is believed to have paid roughly half of that amount, the publication said.
The report claimed two payments had been made from a bank account linked to Reimon Uniform, with the first alleged payment being for R200 000 and another payment of R100 000 was allegedly made to Johannesburg-based travel agency Munlin Travel, New24 reported.
At the time, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the Public Protector, slammed Mbalula, saying it was “very irresponsible of him as he could not determine whether he could afford the excursion”.
According to Times Live, in her report, Mkhwebane found that Mbalula violated the Executive Ethics Act and the constitution by asking a South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee sporting goods supplier to help him pay for his 2016 family holiday to Dubai.
Mkhwebane found Mbalula had gone to Dubai without first paying for the trip and seemingly had no idea how much it would cost. She said this was “very irresponsible of him as he could not determine whether he could afford the excursion”.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
