Minister asked for favour for her son‚ claims suspended Home Affairs DG

Minister of Home Affairs Hlengiwe Mkhize asked her now suspended director general‚ Mkuseli Apleni‚ to assist her son in settling a legal dispute with the department involving nearly R1-million‚ court papers claim.

Apleni has filed papers in the Pretoria High Court urgently seeking an order to declare his suspension unconstitutional and invalid.

He has asked for the matter to be heard on October 3.

Apleni was placed on precautionary suspension on September 18 by the minister‚ pending the outcome of an investigation. He has been director general at Home Affairs since 2010 and his current contract was due to end in 2020.

Apleni argues that his case is urgent because he believes Mkhize will try to settle multi-million rand disputes in his absence‚ including a claim from the company her son‚ Sizwe Mkhize‚ works for‚ Atlantis Corporate Travel.

The other matters he raised as a concern were ongoing litigation between the department and Fireblade‚ owned by the Oppenheimer family‚ as well as a claim of R300-million by Double Ring Trading 222‚ a company Home Affairs accused of fraud in 2009 and stopped paying.

Double Ring was hired to provide satellite bandwith to Home Affairs satellite offices‚ but instead of invoicing R2‚450 per unit‚ the company invoiced $2‚450 – resulting in a 750% mark-up considering previous exchange rates.

“However‚ since the Minister took her position‚ she apparently has been of the view that the claim is to be settled‚” Apleni said in his affidavit.

Fireblade‚ meanwhile‚ has been the subject of an epic tussle between the Oppenheimer and the Gupta families‚ who both want to control the VVIP terminal at OR Tambo International. A request by the Oppenheimers to have immigration services at the terminal was denied‚ and the reasons for this denial have sparked a court battle.

One of the charges levelled against Apleni by the minister in motivating his suspension was that he had “dismally failed to show diligence and urgency” in resolving legal disputes between the department and others.

In his court papers‚ Apleni says he believes the issue between the minister’s son‚ the company he represents and the department could be one of these matters she refers to.

“I believe that there may be other motives that underlie why I have been suspended. I am concerned that in my absence steps will be taken to settle matters that ought not to be settled‚” he said.

Referring to the Atlantis Travel claim matter‚ Apleni said Mkhize’s son Sizwe “has written to the department on several occasions requesting the matter is dealt with outside legal processes”.

He said the minister’s son had been using “his relation to the Minister to have this matter settled in his company’s favour.” He included correspondence in the court papers to back his claim.

In a letter responding to the Mhize’s allegations before he was suspended‚ Apleni said the minister had personally asked him to assist with this dispute.

In a letter informing Apleni of his pending suspension‚ Mkhize further accused him of failing to provide effective leadership during negotiations with unions‚ failing to fill critical posts in the ministry and failure to arrange regular meetings between herself and senior officials and the DG to keep the minister informed of developments.

Apleni wants the court to declare that Mkhize does not have the authority to suspend him‚ that his suspension be declared unconstitutional and invalid and be set aside.

“The Minister’s reasons for suspending me are irrational and the Minister therefore does not have a justifiable reason to believe…that I had engaged in the serious misconduct as alleged.

“Each of the grounds upon which I have been suspended simply does not stand up to scrutiny‚” Apleni argued. “It is clear the Minister did not apply her mind to the facts which were at her disposal when she took the decision to suspend me.”

Sizwe Mkhize did not respond to questions sent via email. The department’s spokesmen also did not reply to calls and text messages asking for comment.