Bathabile Dlamini, the former social development minister, will know her fate this morning 9 March 2022, in her perjury case which relates to the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) crisis which took place in 2017.
The Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court reserved judgement after hearing the closing arguments from both the state and Bathabile’s lawyers. The former minister will learn her fate today on whether she is guilty or not. Dlamini was charged with perjury in 2018 after a constitutional court ruling which came in he wake of an enquiry into whether she should personally pay for the costs for the social grants payment collapse.
The case originally comes from an application which was brought forward by Freedom Under Law and Black Sash to the constitutional court to hold Bathabile Dlamini accountable for the collapse at Sassa. An enquiry was launched by the Constitutional Court in 2018 to investigate the unlawful contract between Sassa and it’s former grants distributor Cash Payment Services (CPS).
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The enquiry found that Bathabile Dlamini not only failed to execute her duties as minister, she further failed to disclose all the relevant information in the enquiry out of fear of being held accountable for the collapse. The minister was expected to pay the litigation fees.
Dlamini appeared in court as instructed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) facing a charge of perjury. Her fate will be determined by the court this morning.
Source: News24, Times Live, The Citizen, image from Times Live
