Parliament - Those implicated by witnesses in the parliamentary inquiry into state capture at South Africa's power utility, Eskom, will be given a chance to clear their names before MPs, the chairwoman of the inquiry said on Thursday.
Lungi Mnganga-Gcabashe was responding to criticism from Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown, who has labelled the committee conducting the probe as a "kangaroo court".
Brown was reacting to testimony the now suspended spokesman for the Eskom board, Khulani Qoma, who told MPs she blocked the removal of Matshela Koko as acting chief executive on instruction from the politically connected Gupta family and their associates. The minister wants an opportunity to refute Qoma's testimony.
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"The Committee welcomed the presentation by Mr Qoma, but reiterated that individuals whose names are mentioned and are implicated during the inquiry, will be afforded an opportunity to come and appear before the inquiry," Mnganga-Gcabashe said in a statement.
Brown in a strong-worded statement said the inquiry would fall foul of the constitutional principle of fairness should she not be called to testify.
"To be precise, the Parliamentary enquiry has permitted testimony implicating various persons without having advised those persons that they were going to be implicated. There was a duty on the part of the evidence leader to advice such other persons about testimony which was going to implicate them," she said.