DA to ask Public Protector to probe Mapisa-Nqakula – Wege saga

29 May 2016 - 18:19 By TMG Digital

The Democratic Alliance is to ask the Public Protector to investigate reports that the woman Defence and Military Veterans Minister‚ Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula‚ smuggled into the country using a government jet was her late son’s boyfriend. The Sunday Times reported that Mapisa-Nqakula's late son was romantically involved with the Burundi woman she smuggled into South Africa on an air force jet.In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Times this week businessman Laurent Wege claimed his daughter Michelle was planning to marry Chumani‚ who was stabbed to death in October last year.This claim was supported by four other sources‚ two of them close to the minister's family‚ the newspaper reported.Wege also lifted the lid on a business relationship with the minister gone sour‚ and denied Mapisa-Nqakula's claims that she had "rescued" Michelle from being abused by him‚ contradicting the reasons Mapisa-Nqakula gave the Sunday Times last week‚ the newspaper said.According to reports‚ Mapisa-Nqakula travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where Ms Wege had been arrested for trying to board a flight to South Africa by using a fraudulent passport arranged by Mapisa-Nqakula’s sister‚ Nosithembele‚ who has since been suspended.DA spokesman on defence matters Kobus Marais said on Sunday he would write to the Public Protector requesting that she launch an investigation into the matter.He noted that the latest allegations came only a week after Mapisa-Nqakula’s assertion that the story about her defrauding the South African public and breaking immigration laws was “a well calculated plan to destroy her reputation”.“Minister Mapisa-Nqakula vehemently emphasised the plight of Ms Wege as an excuse for her illegal actions‚ and has in the process trivialised the terrible reality that many South African women face on a daily basis.“Minister Mapisa-Nqakula has‚ in true ANC form‚ misused her political standing to obtain favours from South African and international authorities‚ violated her Oath of Office‚ Executive Members Ethics Act‚ the Immigration Act‚ and the Defence Act for personal benefit‚” Marais asserted.He added that the DA would continue to hold the government accountable‚ and ensure that those elected to public office served the needs of South Africans.“ANC government officials have for too long used the public coffers for personal enrichment‚ causing millions to suffer and bear the brunt of their recklessness‚” he stated...

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