Durban - Mpumalanga Premier, Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane has fired murder accused MEC Mandla Msibi with immediate effect.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday night, Mtsweni-Tsipane said the decision to relieve Msibi of his position was taken in light of the seriousness of the charges.
“I have been taken in consideration of the seriousness of the charges he is facing, as well as the impact that same will have on his work as the executive authority in government,” she said
“After all, it is to be expected that he should dedicate a fair amount of time to the case he is facing. It is common cause that the governing ANC has set itself, a particular moral standard that all of us, it’s public representatives have to abide by. While I release the MEC from his role and responsibilities, I wish to emphasise, accordingly observed, the two basic pillars of jurisprudence, the right to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. And the right to equality before the law,” she said.
While Msibi has been relieved from his MEC role he remains a member of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature.
Co-operative Governance MEC, Busisiwe Shiba, will take charge of the Agriculture department in an acting capacity.
Msibi, the Mpumalanga Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs MEC has been charged with murder and attempted murder in connection to a shooting in August in Nelspruit where two people were gunned down and another wounded.
He appeared in court this week and told the court that he did not see who was shooting and only heard the gunshots.
He told the court that he went to a local shisa nyama to purchase food for officials who attended a meeting where they finalised their candidate list for the local government elections.
The MEC is a member of the ANC provincial executive committee and is the head of elections in the province.
According to the police, the MEC’s arrest brings to three the total number of people arrested in connection with this case.
“On September 17, 2021, police arrested Joseph Charlie Ngwenya, 35, and Tshepo Matsane, 30,” Naidoo said.
Ngwenya and Matsane have already appeared in court twice and were each granted R20 000 bail on Friday, October 8.
IOL