Gigaba Upset at Losing Minister Post After Report on Guptas Clears Him
- Malusi Gigaba has welcomed Busisiwe Mkhwebane's recent report clearing him on Monday
- The Public Protector found that the former Minister had not broken the law following an investigation into the matter
- However, Gigaba has expressed his anger over losing his ministerial position after allegations surrounding his involvement in the Gupta's naturalisation
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Malusi Gigaba has been cleared of wrongdoing in the Gupta family naturalisation saga by Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
Source: Getty Images
Monday saw the Public Protector issuing a number of reports including the one into the former Home Affairs Minister.
Allegations of wrongdoing were found to be lacking any substance by the advocate, something Gigaba has welcomed.
Taking to social media the embattled ANC politician hinted that action can be expected from his corner in the near future:
"Well, I welcome the key finding of the Public Protector’s report which clears me of the baseless allegations which were, partly, relied upon to hound me out of Cabinet, in November 2018. I shall not be commenting on the rest of this report until I have consulted with my lawyers."
However, the report was not all roses with it finding that the maladministration which occurred under his watch was carried out by senior staff in his department.
Gigaba, who is currently part of the ruling party's Johannesburg policy unit, was slammed in the report for failing to submit a list of people who were naturalised under exceptional circumstances.
But Gigaba wasn't solely in the spotlight with the Public Protector highlighting that Minister Naledi Pandor had led the department before Gigaba was instated in 2014.
Concerns were raised that both Pandor and Gigaba had failed to comply with provisions of the South African Citizenship Act.
Mkhwebane found that Gigaba had been less than honest during a 2018 press briefing when he claimed that Atul Gupta was not a South African citizen:
“Gigaba conceded to furnishing incorrect information during the press conference in question. Even though he rectified his error in a press briefing the following day, the former minister broke the public trust placed upon him."
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that the incident in question refers to the granting of naturalisation rights to Gigaba's alleged acquaintance Ajay Gupta and other members of the infamous family.
Gigaba approved the early naturalisation of Ajay and his family on 30 May, 2015 without tabling their names before Parliament.
This did lead to Mkhwebane stating that, despite Gigaba not abusing his powers, he did violate the Executive Ethics Code:
“The allegation that former minister Malusi Knowledge Gigaba abused his powers afforded in terms of the SA Citizenship Amendment Act when granting certificates of early naturalisation to his alleged acquaintances, Mr Ajay Gupta and family, without proper validation of the requisite exceptional circumstances, is unsubstantiated.”
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Source: Briefly News
