Gigaba's 'untruths' need to be 'given serious attention' - Ramaphosa
4 April 2018
President Cyril Ramaphosa is giving Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba's untruths "due and proper consideration".
In December last year, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled that Gigaba "deliberately told untruths under oath". The court also found that Gigaba had violated the Constitution.
The judgment followed a court battle which Fireblade Aviation, owned by the wealthy Oppenheimer family, had lodged in November 2016 against the Department of Home Affairs and others.
The application sought to have the court declare that approval for a terminal at OR Tambo International Airport – allegedly granted by Gigaba in early 2016 during his first stint as Minister of Home Affairs – could not be revoked.
It is alleged that Gigaba revoked the approval he originally granted, under pressure from the Guptas.
Gigaba's appeal was dismissed in the Supreme Court of Appeal with costs last month.
COPE leader Mosiuoa Lekota asked Ramaphosa in a written question in Parliament what "action does he intend to take against [the] minister, Mr Malusi Gigaba, following the finding in the Pretoria High Court judgment in the Fireblade matter that the minister had committed a breach of the Constitution so serious that it can be characterised as a violation".
Ramaphosa answered: "The judgment handed down in the Pretoria High Court in the matter of Fireblade Aviation (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Home Affairs contains statements about the Minister of Home Affairs that are of great concern and need to be given serious attention.
"I am therefore giving the matter due and proper consideration."
When Ramaphosa shuffled his Cabinet in February, Gigaba survived, while other ministers who have been linked to the Guptas, such as Des van Rooyen, Lynne Brown, Mosebenzi Zwane and Faith Muthambi, got the chop.
Gigaba was however moved from finance to home affairs, where the pressure continued to pile on him due to the court case and the bungled explanation of how some members of the Gupta family gained South African citizenship.
