Former health minister Zweli Mkhize is a path to clear his name ahead of the ANC national conference and to contest the position of party leader. File
Former health minister Zweli Mkhize’s backers are confident the Digital Vibes scandal hanging over his head will not affect his ambitions of becoming ANC president.
KwaZulu-Natal named Mkhize its preferred candidate, and provincial leaders said allegations that he was implicated in the digital vibes scandal were laughable.
ANC KZN spokesperson Mafika Ndebele made the comments this week amid speculation that state machinery was being used in the ANC’s leadership contest.
Ndebele accused the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) of being used in a smear campaign against Mkhize.
Mkhize resigned as health minister in 2021 when he was implicated in the irregular awarding of R141million contracts to Digital Vibes for the National Health Insurance (NHI), and another R125m tender for Covid-19 awareness campaigns.
This week, Mkhize wrote to SIU head Andy Mothibi and gave him until Friday to provide the evidence used to make adverse findings against him. It is unclear if a response was received.
Speaking at an ANC event in Durban this week, Mkhize cautioned against the use of the criminal law system to “eliminate opponents”.
Several ANC members and former leaders have been arrested in several high-profile cases that sparked talk that law enforcement agencies were being used in the “battle for control of the ANC”.
This included the case of former minister and ANC national executive committee member Mosebenzi Zwane, who was nabbed by the Hawks on fraud and corruption charges linked to the R280m Estina Dairy Farm scandal.
The Hawks in the Eastern Cape arrested Nelson Mandela Bay Metro officials along with party regional secretary Luyolo Nqakula over allegations of fraud and contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) last month. Nqakula is also known to be among those lobbying for former Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle’s candidature for the position of secretary-general.
The Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation has rejected the accusations, while the NPA referred questions to spokesperson advocate Mthunzi Mhaga.
Mhaga said there was no truth to the allegations.
“We are guided by evidence in our prosecutorial decision-making process and do not target individuals,” he said.
Mkhize is vying for the top position of ANC president against incumbent Cyril Ramaphosa and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Ndebele said those backing Mkhize were confident he would not be affected by the step-aside resolution, as he was yet to be charged.
"We believe the intention is to find Mkhize guilty at all costs," Ndebele said. "We believe there are too many loopholes in this so-called digital vibes scandal, and that is why the Hawks have said there is no investigation that Mkhize is subjected to.“
However, Ndebele said he was concerned Mkhize would be perceived as corrupt.
"The whole intention was to assassinate his character and, unfortunately, that assassination attempt will not hold any water. It is going to fail vehemently. It is quite concerning that a state institution such as the SIU will go as far as making findings based on uninformed allegations. The SIU did this. They are a state institution and that is why we are extremely worried as the ANC in KZN," Ndebele said.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the unit did not get involved in politics.
“All our investigations are allegations-based and all our outcomes are evidence-based; we do not investigate people,” Kganyago said.
Should Mkhize be charged before the December conference, it could disqualify him from the race as the ANC’s step-aside resolution would kick in.
Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule said he had previously spoken on the use of state machinations in political battles, and would elaborate further in court.
“I am waiting for my day in court, but my day in court doesn’t come when I have pleaded a million times, I am still pleading, let the case be on. And that is why it has been postponed beyond conference,” Magashule said.
Magashule and 18 others are due back in court on January 20.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the directorate was an independent entity. "The arrests that are currently being made are as a result of rigorous investigation which will ensure that the arrested suspect/s are not released through technicalities," Mogale said.
She said investigations did not have a time frame.
"Some cases warrant intensive investigation, which spans a long period due to the vastness and complexity of the case," Mogale said.
Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said there was a view that should Mkhize’s campaign gain even more traction, he could be charged before December.
"There is a problem with this charging [of people] because it is meant to remove people from contesting leadership in the ANC."
“When you are charged, it doesn’t mean that you are guilty, but you are forced to step aside. Effectively, the contest of the ANC leadership is now in the hands of the NPA. The NPA, whose boss has been appointed by Ramaphosa," Seepe said.
Seepe said using state machinery in a political battle was a recipe for disaster.
"We are going to have a situation where the judges are not trusted, the NPA is not trusted, and the president is definitely not trusted," he said.
But political analyst Lukhanyo Vangqa said those driving the narrative of the Hawks being “weaponised” were opportunistic and their utterances should be taken with a pinch of salt.