Former Gauteng Health MEC, Bandile Masuku, told the High Court in Pretoria the findings made against him by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) are false and deeply prejudicial. The SIU earlier found that Masuku failed in his duty to conduct oversight for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) tenders.
Masuku was axed by Premier David Makhura in October last year:
It was alleged Masuku played a pivotal role in the awarding of a R125 million PPE tender to Royal Bhaca Projects, a company 100%-owned by Thandisizwe Diko, the husband of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko.
The Masuku’s and Diko’s are family friends.
Masuku’s advocate William Mokhare, told the full bench of judges, the SIU based their reports on affidavits without interviewing the relevant people.
He added they never perused Masuku’s emails or bank statements to determine if the allegations were true.
He asked the court to find the SIU findings unlawful, unconstitutional, and invalid. Mokhare says if the findings are not set aside by the court it will remain an albatross around Masuku’s neck for the rest of his life.
