The Johannesburg magistrate’s court on Friday dismissed former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini’s application to have her perjury case discharged.
This after her attorney Tshepiso Mphahlane made an application on November 26 for his client to be acquitted of the alleged crime, saying the state’s evidence was poor and could not be relied upon.
The matter relates to repeated extensions of an unlawful tender awarded to Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) to distribute the department’s social grants in 2017.
Dlamini, who is president of the ANC Women’s League, allegedly gave false evidence under oath at an inquiry instituted by the Constitutional Court in 2018 into the payments fiasco at the SA Social Security Agency.
The court was forced to extend the contract with CPS even though it was found to be illegal.
Dlamini pleaded not guilty to the charge on November 24. She said if she gave false evidence under oath, she did so unknowingly.
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