AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit has intensified calls for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to reopen the case against ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, following new revelations about cash payments linked to his controversial 2016 Dubai trip.
The lobby group, led by Advocate Gerrie Nel, says it has uncovered what it describes as “a clear trail of questionable cash transactions” that allegedly financed the then-Minister of Sports and Recreation’s luxury family vacation. AfriForum argues that the evidence contradicts the NPA’s 2023 decision not to prosecute, calling it “a grave miscarriage of justice.”
According to AfriForum, documentation and witness accounts point to payments made through associates of the Mbalula family and business figures with ties to sports apparel company Sedgars Sports, which allegedly funded the Dubai holiday. The group insists the NPA’s earlier conclusion—that insufficient evidence linked Mbalula to criminal conduct—ignored “material financial irregularities and unexplained cash flows.”
“The money trail cannot simply be dismissed as personal or coincidental,” said Nel in a statement. “We have credible information suggesting that funds used for the trip originated from entities that stood to benefit from government contracts. This demands accountability.”
The NPA previously cited a lack of prosecutable evidence after the Public Protector’s 2019 report found Mbalula had violated the Executive Members’ Ethics Code but did not establish criminality. The report concluded that Sedgars Sports had “loaned” money to Mbalula’s family to cover expenses for the Dubai trip, a transaction deemed ethically improper but not necessarily unlawful.
However, AfriForum now contends that further analysis of bank records and cash transfers exposes deliberate concealment of the payment origins. “It is inconceivable that the NPA can turn a blind eye to such financial patterns,” said AfriForum spokesperson Barry Bateman.
In response, Mbalula’s office dismissed the renewed allegations as politically motivated. “This is yet another desperate attempt to smear the Secretary-General’s name ahead of election season,” his spokesperson said. “The matter has been investigated and closed by competent authorities.”
AfriForum confirmed that it will submit a detailed dossier to the NPA this week, requesting a formal review of its decision. The development places renewed scrutiny on both the prosecuting authority’s independence and the ANC heavyweight’s financial conduct during his tenure as a Cabinet minister.
