FINALLY South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Gigaba Resigns

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has (finally) resigned, the Presidency said on Tuesday. His resignation following calls from opposition parties to stand down in recent weeks over a High Court ruling which found he lied under oath.

Gigaba, who was finance minister between March 2017 and February 2018, has denied any wrongdoing.

In February, Gigaba – who had a dismal brief spell as Finance Minister – was reappointed as Home Affairs Minister by President Cyril Ramaphosa (which was surprising after Gigaba had almost single-handedly lost South Africa a large chunk of tourism dollars with churlish tit-for-tat stringent immigration laws he introduced three years ago, which put foreigners off visiting South Africa’s shores).

Last month Gigaba was forced to apologise over a “menage a un” private sex video that was leaked on social media. His phone had been hacked during his tenure as Finance Minister.

“The president has accepted the minister’s resignation,” Cyril Ramaphosa’s’s office said in a statement, following Gigaba’s letter in which he apparently indicated he was resigning to help Ramphosa save South Africa from “this economic meltdown”.

The Presidency said in full:

President Cyril Ramaphosa has today, Tuesday 13 November 2018, received a letter of resignation from the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Malusi Knowledge Nkanyezi Gigaba.

The President has accepted the Minister’s resignation and expressed his appreciation for Minister’s Gigaba longstanding service to the government and people of South Africa.

Mr Gigaba was appointed as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs in 2004 and subsequently served as Minister of Public Enterprises, Minister of Finance and – for two intervals – as Minister of Home Affairs.

Minister Gigaba indicated in his letter of resignation that he was stepping aside for the sake of our country and the movement to which he belongs. Further to relieve the President from undue pressure and allow him to focus on improving the lives of the people of South Africa and for him to do the best he can to serve the country and save it from this economic meltdown.

President Ramaphosa has requested Minister of Transport Dr Blade Nzimande to act as Minister of Home Affairs until a permanent appointment is made.

Gigaba was thrust into the role of Finance Minister after South Africa‘s then-president Jacob Zuma fired Pravin Gordhan, a move that unnerved investors and roiled markets at the time.

Pressure on Gigaba mounted when the Public Protector said last week that he should be disciplined for lying under oath about the wealthy Oppenheimer family’s attempt to open a private airport immigration facility.

A South African court ruled last December that Gigaba had violated the constitution when he denied having ever approved an application by the Oppenheimers to operate an immigration service for wealthy VIPs at Johannesburg’s main airport.

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane last Wednesday directed President Ramaphosa to discipline Gigaba and to inform her of the action he had taken within 20 days.

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Writing by James Macharia/Reuters and Jenni Baxter/SAPeople; Editing by Gareth Jones and Jenni Baxter)