Parliament clears Dyantyi and Majodina over Mkhwebane bribery claims

Suspended public protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane has suffered yet another blow in parliament. The ethics committee has cleared ANC MPs Pemmy Majodina and Richard Dyantyi of accusations that they tried to solicit a bribe from Mkhwebane’s husband, David Skosana.

Skosana alleged that the late Tina Joemat-Pettersson tried to solicit a bribe from him on behalf of Majodina and Dyantyi to influence the outcome of the section 194 committee hearing into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.

Dyantyi chaired the committee while Majodina is the ANC chief whip. After investigating complaints of bribery, the ethics committee on Thursday cleared the pair, saying they were unfounded.

In its findings it said the version of events provided to the police by Skosana, on which the complaints were based, did not directly mention Majodina or Dyantyi. The recording of a conversation purported to be between Joemat-Pettersson and Skosana does not mention Majodina or Dyantyi either.

This is the recording in which Joemat-Pettersson is purported to have solicited a bribe from Skosana, allegedly on behalf of Majodina and Dyantyi.

The committee also found that the parts of evidence provided by Skosana, of his WhatsApp conversations between him and Joemat-Pettersson, “appear to be missing and therefore may not be a true reflection of the communication between them”.

“Therefore, the committee found that the evidence before it does not provide a conclusion on the probability that the two MPs solicited a bribe of R200,000 in respect of the section 914 inquiry. Therefore, the committee found that the complaint is unfounded and that Mr Dyantyi and Ms Majodina did not breach the code,” the ethics committee said in a statement issued by its chair, Lydia Moshodi.

“Regarding the complaint against the late Ms Joemat-Pettersson, item 3.1 of the code clearly states that it applies to MPs. Ms Joemat-Pettersson ceased to be an MP from the date of her death on June 5 2023. Accordingly, the complaint against Ms Joemat-Pettersson does not fall within the committee’s jurisdiction.”

Mkhwebane had also brought a complaint against National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for contravening parliament’s ethics code. She said Mapisa-Nqakula’s decision to turn down a request for a meeting with her as a whistleblower, and to disclose her identity and the contents of her complaint without obtaining permission, exposed her to danger. 

Mkhwebane also claimed that Mapisa-Nqakula unfairly gave Majodina and Dyantyi an advantage by disclosing details of the complaint against them. This, Mkhwebane claimed, made Mapisa-Nqakula an accomplice in the duo’s alleged transgressions.

The ethics committee, however, dismissed these complaints, saying their details and the whistleblower information were leaked to the media and emanated from a criminal case laid by Skosana.

“Furthermore, the committee found that Adv Mkhwebane’s own affidavit acknowledged that the complaint made by Mr David Skosana to the SA Police Service [SAPS] was leaked to the media. Therefore, details of the intended complaint, as accepted by Adv Mkhwebane, were made public by SAPS and not by Ms Mapisa-Nqakula. As a result, the committee found the complaint unfounded and that the speaker did not breach the code,” the committee said.

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