Mbalula insists he’s not afraid to appear before Zondo commission

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula insists that he was shocked to learn through a television news broadcast that a witness would soon implicate him in corruption at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

Mbalula says he heard that he would be implicated by former chairperson of the interim board Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa Khanyisile Kweyama who is expected to testify about the dismissal of the board in the coming days.

He says the commission did not make any effort to inform him about the pending damning evidence against him. He however says he is not afraid of appearing before the commission to give his side of the story as he did before.

Below is Minister Fikile Mbalula’s statement on the matter: 

MINISTER MBALULA’S REACTION AFTER BEING IMPLICATED IN THE ZONDO COMMISSION

Statement by Minister @MbalulaFikile

For Immediate Release
Attention: News Editors
Date: 12 March 2020 pic.twitter.com/iX83T1iLmS

— MEDIA LIAISON | Esethu Hasane (@EsethuOnDuty) March 12, 2020

However, the commission earlier disputed Mbalula’s claim that he did not receive a rule three-point-three notice telling him that a witness would implicate him in his testimony.

Evidence leader advocate Vas Soni told the commission’s chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo that the notice was served to Mbalula and the Department of Transport.

Soni says he has proof that Mbalula was notified.

“I have been told and I have proof here in respect of Ms Kweyama’s affidavit, that affidavit was in fact served on Mr Mbalula through an e-mail address which the commission has used previously and about which there has been no complaint and there has been communication between the commission and the ministry’s office.  And all the affidavit that we served to that address we then forwarded to the ministry.”