'Go tell the truth' - SA reacts to Gigaba appearing before Zondo 'even if it costs him his home'

Former home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba's comments on his appearance before the state capture inquiry has drawn mixed reactions online.

The controversial former minister announced on Thursday that he will testify at the inquiry in March, and intends to lawyer up.

Gigaba said while the legal fees will undoubtedly cost him an arm and a leg, he will appear, even it if it costs him his home.

He said deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo summoned him to appear before the inquiry from March 8 to 12, “presumably to help him separate fact from fiction”. 

“But his secretariat has, so far, ignored my requests to cross-examine those who’ve told unsubstantiated fabrications and self-serving distortions about me,” said Gigaba.

Gigaba said he was shunned by the state after he requested that it pay his legal fees in preparation for his appearance before the inquiry.

“The state I was serving, the state which is spending R1bn on this commission, is refusing to pay the R1m my lawyers need to help me prepare for my appearance.

'I’ll, however, be appearing before His Lordship. This notwithstanding. Even if it costs me my home,” Gigaba said.

Several witnesses who have appeared before the inquiry have implicated Gigaba in state capture.

Allegations included Gigaba pushing for the national airline to drop its Johannesburg-Mumbai route, breaking good governance rules at SAA, and that his suits were paid for with cash received from the controversial Gupta family.

On Monday, public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane cleared Gigaba of alleged wrongdoing in granting early naturalisation to Ajay Gupta and other members of the Gupta family.

Gigaba's plan to appear at the inquiry comes after reports that his estranged wife Norma Mngoma would also be making an appearance.

Mngoma vowed to appear before the inquiry, if subpoenaed, to testify about what she had seen during her marriage to Gigaba during an interview with eNCA last year.

On social media, many backed Gigaba on the move, while other questioned the lawyer's fee.

Here is a snapshot of some of the reactions: