Johannesburg - A Gauteng court has
found Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba violated the Constitution
in statements he made about his decision to revoke his approval
of a company's bid to open a private airport immigration
facility.
The judgment is the latest legal blow to a senior government official and comes at a time when President Cyril
Ramaphosa is considering a cabinet reshuffle after replacing his scandal-plagued predecessor Jacob Zuma last week.
Handed down in December, the judgment only came to public
light this week. Gigaba, whose job security under Ramaphosa is
unclear, said he would challenge the decision.
The judgment was issued after an application by Fireblade
Aviation, a company owned by the wealthy Oppenheimer family,
seeking to compel Gigaba to stick to his decision while home
affairs minister to allow the firm to operate an immigration
service for wealthy VIPs at Johannesburg's main airport.
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The court ruling reversed Gigaba's decision to revoke his
approval, saying that the minister had lied in having "denied
ever having approved the application".
"By telling a deliberate untruth on facts central to the
decision of this case, the minister has committed a breach of
the constitution so serious that I would characterise it as a
violation," the ruling read.
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Speaking to the media in Cape Town ahead of his budget
speech to parliament, Gigaba said: "My lawyers are studying the
judgment and we will respond to it in due time...It's important
to highlight that the decision of the court is being
challenged."
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the official opposition party,
said that based on the judgment, it had filed a complaint
against Gigaba with the Public Protector, South Africa's
constitutionally-mandated anti-graft watchdog.