Former Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini will appear at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on a charge of perjury on Tuesday.
The charges relate to her testimony during an inquiry the Constitutional Court instituted into her role in the 2017 social grants crisis.
The head of the inquiry, Justice Bernard Ngoepe, said Dlamini lied about her role in the Cash Paymaster Services saga.
In 2018, civil society movement, Freedom Under Law, said it felt vindicated by the Constitutional Court judgment.
The court had ordered Dlamini to personally pay 20% of the legal costs of the court application by Black Sash and Freedom Under Law regarding the Sassa debacle.
The court also referred Dlamini to the National Prosecuting Authority for prosecution over suspicions that she lied under oath in her submissions to the court, as well as during the inquiry.
“Whilst we’re elated, I think it’s vindication for accountability,” says Freedom Under Law’s Chief Executive Officer Nicole Fritz.
Constitutional Court ruling on Social grants hearing: 17 March 2017
