Sex, lies and litigation - Gigaba's rollercoaster week
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has had a lot on his plate this week.
From a sex tape, to being called a liar and an impending legal battle with talk show host, Redi Tlhabi, it's been a rollercoaster for Gigaba.
Here's what has happened in just four days.
Sunday: That sex tape
On Sunday Gigaba tweeted that a tape which had material of a sexual nature had been taken from his phone after it was allegedly hacked and used to blackmail him.
The video shows Gigaba in a sexual act, and according to his Sunday morning tweets, it was meant to be viewed by only him and his wife. He apologised to his family and the public for "the pain and embarrassment."
Social media latched on to the story and by Sunday afternoon, the #GigabaChallenge had taken hold, with people poking fun at the video.
Tuesday: Fireblade & accusations of lies
Tuesday was not any better for the minister after Fireblade Aviation chairperson and one of South Africa's wealthiest people, Nicky Oppenheimer, alleged that the minister had lied to Parliament.
Oppenheimer told the National Assembly's home affairs committee that Gigaba lied when he told Parliament that he had not approved the operation of an airport terminal by Fireblade. The minister has previously denied ever giving such permission.
Tuesday: An update on the Redi Tlhabi vs Malusi Gigaba case
An announcement by Gigaba to loosen regulations for children travelling into and out of South Africa saw journalist-turned author Redi Tlhabi claim on Twitter that the original decision to tighten regulations was based on a personal vendetta.
The allegations forced the minister to issue an official denial.
In a statement released on the department of Home Affairs letterhead, it confirmed that "legal action" would be taken against Tlhabi.
On Tuesday, Tlhabi posted an update on her Twitter account, which has over 440,000 followers.
12 Oct: lawyer received letter from Mr Gigaba's lawyers, informing us of court action unless I apologize in 7 days. My lawyer answered on 17th & invited them to issue summons. Izolo his lawyers again informed us of intention to sue. My lawyer wrote "We await service of summons."
— Redi Tlhabi (@RediTlhabi) October 30, 2018
In 2nd letter, there was an invitation from Mr Gigaba's lawyers for us to "elucidate on the alleged inaccuracies & obfuscation" we allege. Inviting us to "elucidate" is basically arguing the case so my lawyer's response "We have little further to add to our reply dated 17 Oct"
— Redi Tlhabi (@RediTlhabi) October 30, 2018
When contacted for comment by TimesLIVE, Home Affairs spokesperson Thabo Mokgola said "updates would be communicated as and when they become available."
