The African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee member and Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says she will assist convicted former Northern Cape ANC chairperson John Block to sue the state.
Briefing the media in Upington on Tuesday, Sisulu accused Correctional Services Department of violating Block’s rights.
This comes after she was allegedly denied access to see him at the Upington Correctional Services.
Block is currently serving a 15-year sentence after the High Court in the Northern Cape in 2015 found him guilty of fraud, corruption and money laundering.
Sisulu maintains Block is her relative.
She says, “It clearly shows that someone who is behind this is abusing their position to violate John Block’s rights, the conduct of the correctional services is a clear violation of rights. We are going to assist John to sue the state and make sure that it doesn’t happen to anybody in future.”
Political ploy
Human rights activist, Reverend Alan Boesak maintains that being denied access to Block, is a political ploy.
Boesak also alleges that together with Sisulu they were denied access to the Upington Correctional Service where Block is serving his 15-year sentence.
The duo maintains that necessary preparations were made with Correctional Services ahead of the visit and they were surprised when they were turned away.
Block is serving the fourth year of his sentence for fraud, corruption and money laundering.
Boesak says this is all ANC politics.
He says, “It’s pure political manipulation and we are in an election season, let’s not be naive about that the person next to me clearly is the person that is such a threat to those who are in political positions of power right now, that even a visit to an inmate is too much for them to handle, so that’s political opportunism of the worst kind.”
Minister Sisulu, Dr Boesak say they were denied access to John Block:
