Cape Town - ANC MP Bongani Bongo had his corruption charges thrown out by the Western Cape High Court on Friday. This was after Bongo had applied for the case to be dismissed by the court.
Bongo had been accused of trying to bribe evidence leader advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara in the Eskom inquiry in Parliament a few years ago. Vanara and other senior officials of Parliament gave evidence in the trial.
However, Bongo had denied the allegations and said there was no further evidence against him. He then applied for the case to be dismissed by the court.
Bongo has been an ANC MP for some time and chairs the portfolio committee on home affairs.
On Wednesday, the issue of the charge against Bongo being laid by then DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen came under the microscope in court during the hearing of an application to acquit brought by the defence.
The charge by Steenhuisen led to Bongo being charged with attempting to bribe a now former parliamentary official, Ntuthuzelo Vanara, in a bid to collapse a 2017 parliamentary enquiry into SOEs and Eskom.
Bongo's advocate Mike Hellens SC said the charge against Bongo, laid by Steenhuisen and which accused Bongo of actually having bribed Vanara was inaccurate.
Bongo had pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to bribe Vanara, in a bid to collapse a 2017 parliamentary enquiry into SOEs and Eskom.
At the time, Vanara was evidence leader in the parliamentary investigation of Eskom, which was running parallel to another inquiry into the capture of state-owned enterprises, now known as the Zondo Commission.
Western Cape High Court Judge President John Hlophe had reserved judgement on the application to acquit until this morning.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi
Political Bureau