The Democratic Alliance (DA) isn’t showing Deputy President Paul Mashatile any love this Valentine’s Day. The party officially laid criminal charges against him yesterday for several allegations of corruption.
DA leader John Steenhuisen delivered a full charge sheet at the Cape Town Central Police Station detailing the allegations, which News24 has investigated in a series called Mashatile Unmasked.
In a statement, the DA said that Mashatile’s alleged crimes would have been exposed had the president implemented lifestyle audits on the cabinet as promised in his first SONA.
“This entire sordid debacle is proof that President Ramaphosa was never serious about dealing with corruption in his government and within the ANC,” the party said.
The party said it had also submitted a formal complaint to parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests regarding Mashatile’s breach of the members’ Code of Conduct, failure to disclose registrable interests, and wilfully or grossly negligently providing the Registrar with incorrect or misleading details.
Before laying the charges, the DA submitted a dossier of allegations against Mashatile to the President on Friday, 2 February 2024. The Presidency accused the party of having “political motives” for threats of laying charges against him.
Now, Mashatile is never too far away from controversy. In July 2023, eight VIP Protection Officers attached to him attacked two men on the N1 in Gauteng. Mashatile insisted that he did not know that the assault happened. The eight accused handed themselves over to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate on the 23rd of July, 2023 and have since returned to work.
The investigation series has revealed several allegations against the DP, including nepotism and a patronage system in which Mashatile benefits. This includes the purchase of two homes, one in Gauteng and another in the Western Cape, that Mashatile uses.
The Presidency and Mashatile have yet to comment on this latest development.
