Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members Interests has cleared African National Congress (ANC) Members of Parliament Pemmy Majodina and Richard Dyantyi of allegations that they solicited bribes to influence the outcomes of the Section 914 inquiry against suspended Public Protector Advocate Busisiswe Mkhwebane.
In a ruling communicated to RTM Attorneys, the attorneys of record for Mkhwebane in the matter, advocate A Gordon, the acting registrar of members' interests, said the complaint is unfounded.
The investigation was prompted after Mkhwebane’s husband, David Skosana, claimed that the three wanted a bribe of R200,000 each before they ruled on the matter.
Gordon said the committee did not proceed with the probe against MP and former minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson as she passed away on the same date the complaint was filed.
The committee finalised its report on September 6.
"In relation to the complaint against Honourable Dyantyi, MP, and Honourable Majodina, MP, the Committee noted that the version of events offered by Mr Skosana, the South African Police Service (SAPS), which forms the basis of the complaint, does not specifically mention the two members of Parliament," reads the letter Gordon sent to Mkhwebane’s attorneys.
The committee also said the audio recording Mkhwebane’s husband offered to the SAPS does not have the names of the two ANC MPs who were left to deal with the matter after the death of Joemat-Pettersson.
Neither the WhatsApp messages, Gordon added.
"There has been a lot of speculation and fanfare about the content of the audio recordings, but the audio recordings do not mention the two MPs.
"The WhatsApp messages do not link the two MPs to the allegation," Gordon added in the letter.
Gordon stressed that the WhatsApp messages seem to have missing parts and may not give a true picture.
"The WhatsApp messages and the audio recordings seem to have missing parts of communication between Ms Joemat-Pettersson and Mr Skosana and therefore may not be a true reflection of the communication between them," Gordon said.
Gordon concluded by saying that the evidence provided did not show that Majodina and Dytantyi breached the ethical code of conduct expected of them.
The ruling was also confirmed by parliamentary communication through a press statement.
IOL Politics