Former Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize approached the High Court in Johannesburg in an effort to have the findings of the Special Investigating Units’s (SIU) report against him set aside. He also wanted to declare the SIU’s conduct as being unlawful and unconstitutional.
The SIU found that the R150 million Digital Vibes contract had been unlawfully awarded which prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to place Mkhize on special leave in June. The report also claimed that Mkhize, his family and some of his close associates benefited from the tender.
In his court papers, Mkhize said that the recommendations made by the SIU are tainted by “stark irregularities” in the way they conducted their investigation and obtained evidence.
He also accused the SIU of ending his political career as a government official and in his affidavit he stated that there were breaches by the SIU in terms of fairness.
He states that he was given no notice or even the substance of fundamental matters in which he was questioned and that the documents in the possession of the SIU were withheld from him.
“The conclusions reached by the SIU, and its ’findings’ and recommendations against me, are tainted by stark irregularities in the manner in which it conducted its investigation, and in its approach to the evidence, it gathered. These irregularities are both procedural and substantive in nature,” he says.
He added, “Irregular as they were, they obliged me to tender my resignation and the president to accept it. My rights of reputation, personal and professional, have been undermined, my employment as a public servant ended, my political career (I have served both at provincial and national leadership levels of the ruling party) itself has been jeopardized”
Sources: MSN, ENCA
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