Historical fact: Knowledge Nkanyezi Malusi Gigaba was once touted by many as an impressive political rising star and future president of the governing ANC and by extension that of the country.
Is there a chance he may still achieve this feat? Highly unlikely, thanks to his alleged association with the notorious Gupta family.
But where did things go wrong for Gigaba? Let us ponder this question.
Having risen to ANCYL president at just 25 years of age in 1996, Gigaba was re-elected for a further two terms in 1999 and 2001 respectively.
He also got the nod for a seat in the ANC benches in the national assembly, before rising to becoming a deputy minister in 2004 at age 33.
At this stage there was no doubt that Gigaba was destined for bigger things within the ANC and government, if the party continued to steal the hearts and minds of the majority of the South African electorate.
The noise about his blossoming political prospects was rising as quickly as he was in the ANC and government leadership ranks.
The noise about his blossoming political prospects was rising as quick as he was in the ANC and government leadership ranks. Gigaba himself started admiring, and somewhat copying, the demeanours of esteemed ANC senior leaders.
To date, his speech mannerisms and articulation are almost identical to former president Thabo Mbeki’s, under whose leadership Gigaba’s political stardom matured.
But Gigaba’s spinelessness came to the fore during the build up to the ANC elective conference in Polokwane at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop).
Those who were involved in the lobbying for both factions in the heated toe-to-toe campaign claimed Gigaba played both sides.
When he was in the presence of those who belonged to the Jacob Zuma faction, he assured them: “I am with you comrades”, while he sang the same hymn in the company of those who backed Mbeki for a third term.
Zuma defeated Mbeki but Gigaba, who apparently thought he was ready to rise to become a minister, was not immediately onboarded by the Zuma camp, as they kept him a deputy minister.
This because they were not fully confident of his loyalty to their cause, which we now know was to advance large-scale ransacking of state resources.
When then public enterprises minister Barbara Hogan, more than a year into the term, continued to resist Zuma’s advances to start the looting of SOEs for the Gupta family, the scandal-prone president knew exactly where to go for a participant who could not afford to ask questions.
Gigaba was desperate to move to the next level in his political career, no matter what it took.
Gigaba was the man and he was desperate to move to the next level in his political career, no matter what it took.
He was an easy catch, because, after all, he needed to prove his loyalty to Zuma to erase the murmurs of his Polokwane double agenda, which cost him a ministerial appointment in 2009.
Taking up the job would prove to be a fatal blow to Gigaba’s political career.
From being public enterprises minister, he went on to become the political principal at the department of home affairs and ultimately the big one — finance in 2017.
While at DPE, Gigaba befriended Ajay Gupta of what was to become the notorious Gupta family, which dominated state contracts at SOEs.
In this instance, Gigaba stands accused of having appointed SOE boards and executives sympathetic to the Gupta family, which tightened its grip on state contracts during his tenure.
Looking after the president’s friends might have appeared to be a good idea to Gigaba in order secure his own political future.
At home affairs, he was fingered for approving the illegal naturalisation of the Indian family, which was later reversed.
With these blemishes his political star began to diminish, but his Gupta links were not the only self-inflicted pain, because Gigaba was also rocked by embarrassing but avoidable personal scandals.
Who can forget the drama that was caused by Gigaba’s alleged former lover Buhle Mkhize, when she publicly exposed both Gigaba and his now estranged wife Norma Mngoma?
That personal scandal was to be surpassed by the leaking of an his X-rated “imagine this in your mouth” video.
Who can forget the drama that was caused by Gigaba’s alleged former lover Buhle Mkhize when she publicly exposed both Gigaba and his now estranged wife Norma Mngoma?
In his more than five appearances at the Zondo commission, Gigaba has sought to deny any role in aiding state capture and corruption perpetuated by the Guptas, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
He would also not take responsibility for his marital woes, but was happy to participate in the divorce mudslinging contest between himself and Mngoma at the same forum.
His overall performance and implication at the state capture inquiry left many, who once held him in high regard, with one conclusion. Gigaba’s leadership capabilities and bona fides were doubtful.
With his backbone having been fractured as far back as pre-Polokwane 2007 in his double agenda escapades, logic follows that Gigaba did not have the guts to say “no” to the Gupta family’s capture of SOEs under his watch.
The state capture inquiry report by its chairperson, deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo, will put this question to bed once and for all and will most probably be the ultimate decider on Gigaba’s political destiny.
How the mighty have fallen.
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