‘Defamation ruling will have no bearing on probe into MEC’

There was no finding or court order in the high court  in Grahamstown that found the allegations made by UDM president Bantu Holomisa against transport MEC Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe were true.

This was the response from the Eastern Cape premier’s spokesperson, Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha, on the court judgment and whether the decision would influence any decision the premier took on how to handle the Mioca B&B investigation.

Sicwetsha had previously said the premier had appointed a team from the provincial treasury to investigate the allegations of impropriety made against the department of transport.

He said the investigation team was not appointed by the MEC of transport, as alleged, and there was no real evidence supporting the view that the investigation was being frustrated by the department.

The MEC wanted a retraction, an apology and R250,000 in damages from Holomisa because she said he defamed her by suggesting she was corrupt in a tweet he sent out in April.

However, the application was dismissed with costs by judge Gerald Bloem.

The tweet, headed “#ComradesInCorruption are at it again”, stated that she owned the Mioca Lodge guest house in Cala being used as an official, government paid-for quarantine site for patients suspected to have Covid-19.

Tikana-Gxothiwe denied in court papers she owned the guest house.

She asked the high court to declare as defamatory and false his statements on social media and order that he retract them and issue an unconditional apology.

She also wanted R250,000 in damages.

But Bloem said that though documentation suggested that the MEC’s daughter, Kwakhanya Tikana, was the owner of the lodge, mother and daughter shared a postal and a residential address in the Cala reserve — a fact that the MEC had chosen not to explain in court papers.

Responding, Sicwetsha said: “The matter before court was a defamation case. There was no finding and order of the court proving that the allegations made by Mr Holomisa were correct.

“The only thing that will inform anything is the report on the investigation being conducted.”

Mabuyane has received strong calls from several ANC Youth League districts in the province to suspend Tikana-Gxothiwe while the investigation was continuing. .

Asked at what stage the investigation was at, Sicwetsha said it was still ongoing.

“What you have are allegations made with no evidence. The investigation into these allegations is still ongoing.

“He [Mabuyane] will wait for the report of the investigation.

“The premier will act on what the investigation report reveals. There is no one being protected.

“If the investigation proves that MEC Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe must be held accountable, she will be held accountable.

“The premier can’t fire MECs on the basis of allegations being made with no evidence.

“The importance of an investigation is to get to the bottom of any situation so that decisions taken are informed by the truth,” Sicwetsha said.

Meanwhile, the premier also received his Covid-19 test results — which were negative —  after one of his core staff tested positive for the virus.