AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit has criticised the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for its decision not to prosecute ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula, accusing the institution of incompetence and selective prosecution.
According to the unit, led by Advocate Gerrie Nel, there is sufficient evidence to charge Mbalula with corruption and money laundering relating to his family’s 2016 holiday in Dubai. The R680 000 trip was allegedly funded by Sedgars Sport director Yusuf Dockrat while Mbalula was serving as Minister of Sport. At the time, Sedgars Sport was a supplier to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC).
AfriForum maintains that the evidence in the case raises serious concerns about the flow of funds. The unit claims that while Mbalula and Dockrat described the R300 000 used to settle the minister’s travel agency debt as a loan, investigators failed to trace the source of the remaining R380 000, which was reportedly paid in cash. It further alleges that the cash was handled by a senior sports federation official and transferred to Mbalula through a businessman married to a Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions.
Nel argued that the NPA’s findings reveal either investigative shortcomings by the South African Police Service (SAPS) or a misunderstanding of the key elements of corruption. He said the uninvestigated aspects of the case were too significant to be ignored by any competent prosecutor.
The unit’s spokesperson, Barry Bateman, added that Mbalula only began repaying the money once media reports surfaced about the funding of the trip. Evidence in the case file allegedly shows that Boxing South Africa head Tsholofelo Lejaka delivered R150 000 in cash to the travel agency to settle part of the debt, and that his office staff made additional cash deposits.
Mbalula has dismissed AfriForum’s allegations, insisting that all investigations cleared him of wrongdoing. He said both the SAPS and the Public Protector found no evidence of corruption or conflict of interest. The Public Protector, he noted, only recommended that the NPA examine a limited aspect of the case, which was completed.
He accused AfriForum of using the law as a political weapon, calling the organisation’s actions malicious and misleading. Mbalula said such campaigns, disguised as legal activism, undermine confidence in democratic institutions. He added that he has instructed his legal representatives to ensure his rights are protected and declined to comment further on the matter.
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