CAPE TOWN – In a dramatic escalation of tensions within South Africa’s government of national unity, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has laid criminal charges against Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane, accusing her of deliberately misleading Parliament over controversial education board appointments.
The charges, filed at Cape Town Central Police Station on Tuesday, center on allegations that Nkabane lied about the appointment process for Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) board chairpersons, with the DA claiming she covered up what they describe as systematic ANC cadre deployment corruption.
The move represents the DA’s most aggressive stance yet against ANC ministers since joining the coalition government, coming just days after President Cyril Ramaphosa fired DA deputy minister Andrew Whitfield for making an unauthorized overseas trip – a decision that prompted the opposition party to withdraw from national unity talks.
“Corruption in the executive has become standard practice under President Cyril Ramaphosa’s watch,” the party said.
It stressed that lying to parliament was a criminal offence.
The row was sparked by Ramaphosa’s firing last week of a DA deputy minister who the president’s office said had made an unauthorised overseas trip.
The DA announced on Saturday it was withdrawing from a “national dialogue” announced by Ramaphosa to tackle a host of problems confronting the country.
It vowed to take measures against ANC government ministers it accuses of corruption.
“We’re taking action because the president of the country, the president of the ANC, refuses to act on corrupt ministers,” DA member of parliament Baxolile Nodada told reporters outside the police station.
Nodada said one of the reasons the DA had joined the government of national unity was “to make sure that we fight against corruption and cadre deployment”.
He was referring to claims that key appointments were being made based on party allegiance rather than on competence.
