Witnesses confirm minister's love affair

Dina Pule's public denials of her relationship with businessman Phosane Mngqibisa will come back to haunt her, because more witnesses are expected to confirm her affair at ethics committee hearings in parliament.

The Sunday Times previously exposed how the embattled communications minister dished out perks, deals and jobs to Mngqibisa and their cronies.

This week, Pule faced 17 hours of intense grilling at the hearings, which will be extended to allow more witnesses to testify.

The police also confirmed on Friday that an inquiry has been opened based on a corruption complaint laid against her this month by DA MP Marian Shinn.

This week, four diplomats and officials confirmed to the Sunday Times that Mngqibisa was treated as Pule's romantic partner during trips to at least three countries in Europe and Asia. All spoke on condition of anonymity.

It is understood that some of them will be called to testify before the ethics committee.

An official referred to Mnqibisa as "the boyfriend" who never left her side.

"They were extremely close. They arrived together, stayed at the same hotel together and left together. There is no doubt in my mind that they were more than just friends - that she was his partner."

Another official, who stayed in the same hotel as Pule in a European city, described seeing her walking "hand in hand" with Mngqibisa from the lobby to a car waiting at the entrance.

A third official described how embassy staff were flustered by Mngqibisa's arrival with Pule, because they had not booked a hotel room for him. But they were told that he would be "staying with the minister".

The ethics committee hearings were held behind closed doors and the nine-member multiparty panel of MPs were sworn to secrecy. It was chaired by veteran ANC stalwart Ben Turok.

Pule, Mngqibisa, ICT Indaba organiser Carol Bouwer and former Communications Department planning and oversight director Bandile Hadebe were called to testify.

The Sunday Times understands that when the two appeared separately before the committee on Thursday and Friday, they both strongly denied that they were lovers.

Pule apparently told the committee that she knew Mngqibisa only as a comrade, even though they had travelled together on almost 20 local and international trips.

Pule has roped in senior ANC MP Mike Masutha, a trained advocate, to represent her during the investigation.

Mngqibisa insisted on giving evidence in Zulu and a translator had to be summoned.

The Sunday Times understands that members of the panel found Mngqibisa to be arrogant.

He was apparently evasive and obstructive in written and verbal answers to questions by committee members.

He refused to list work he had done for Pule's department and linked parastatals.

He also refused to clarify his relationship with Pule, whether she had helped him to win deals and how his R6-million management fee for the ICT Indaba was calculated.

Like Pule, he launched a personal attack on journalists who had written the stories, accusing them of serving hidden, unnamed vested interests.

The hearings are expected to resume later this week.

"It's not over," Turok said yesterday. "There is a possibility that we will hear three more witnesses and recall some of the four we have already heard."

The hearings are focused on Pule's relationship with Mngqibisa and whether he received undeclared and undue benefits as a result. These included his R6-million "management fee" for the ICT Indaba that Pule pressured telecoms companies to sponsor, government-funded overseas trips they took together and jobs for their cronies.

The committee is also investigating whether Pule received undeclared gifts from Mngqibisa above the R1500 threshold requiring a declaration, including a pair of red-soled Louboutin shoes worth about R10000.

It is understood that Mngqibisa's meeting with Bouwer at Montecasino in Johannesburg in November 2011 was not in dispute at the hearings.

Last year, the Sunday Times exposed how Pule's deputy director-general, Themba Phiri, pressured Bouwer to partner with Mngqibisa at the Montecasino meeting.

Pule did not answer detailed questions from the Sunday Times this week.

Her spokesman, Siya Qoza, said he believed that "these things appear to be related to the hearings and she said she won't be discussing this at all". - Additional reporting by Caiphus Kgosana and Thabo Mokone