The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Morgan Hangwani Maumela and the laying of new charges against Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
This is as they are both implicated in syndicates that have been looting money from the Tembisa Hospital, as per the Special Investigating Unit interim investigation report released on Monday.
Implicated in fraudulent contracts
Nhlamulo Ndhela, MK Party spokesperson, said this report confirmed that notorious businessman Matlala and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s nephew by marriage, Maumela, were implicated in fraudulent and irregular contracts.
They have unlawfully benefitted from state funds meant to serve the health and dignity of South Africans, he said.
“The uMkhonto weSizwe Party has taken note of the interim report issued by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) concerning the corruption, criminality and looting at Tembisa Hospital.
“The report not only vindicates the heroic whistleblowing of the late Babita Deokaran, but it also lays bare the full scale of systemic rot entrenched in the health sector, rot that has been protected, sanitised and enabled by elements of the state itself,” Ndlhela said.
Case ready for prosecution
He stated that the case is now ready for prosecution and should not be delayed any further.
“This is not a matter of further investigation; it is a matter of action. The people of South Africa can no longer tolerate selective prosecution, endless delays or protection of politically connected individuals by compromised elements within our criminal justice system.
“This is state capture in its purest and most dangerous form, not in theoretical terms, but in the reality where politicians serve criminal networks, and the justice system is weaponised to protect the corrupt and punish the brave,” said Ndhlela.
He said the party also demands a full and public investigation into the role of senior government officials, particularly political office bearers who oversaw or facilitated the fraudulent transactions, insisting that the matter must be brought to the Ad Hoc Committee in Parliament.
Blaming juniors is a diversion
Ndhlela said blaming junior officials for billions of rands lost to corruption is nothing more than a smokescreen, saying the scale of funds involved does not show that the corruption extended beyond junior officials.
“The continued narrative that ‘procurement clerks’ are the masterminds behind this looting spree is an insult to the intelligence of our people. It is a smokescreen, designed to shield senior politicians, MECs and national government leaders who are either complicit or grossly negligent,” said Ndhlela.
“We are no longer dealing with isolated incidents of corruption; we are facing a well-oiled, highly connected criminal syndicate that has taken root inside the state. Until the heads of this snake are severed, not just its sacrificial tails, there will be no justice, no service delivery and no peace,” he added.
Ndlhela further called for more stringent measures to ensure protection against possible victimisation and contract killings, including protective and legal support for whistle-blowers, describing them as the last line of defence against kleptocracy.
“The uMkhonto weSizwe Party reiterates its commitment to dismantling criminal syndicates within the state, holding every enabler and beneficiary of corruption to account and restoring the dignity of public service. We stand today in the spirit of Babita Deokaran, not just to remember her sacrifice, but to finish the fight she began,” said Ndhlela.
