Dlamini found guilty of perjury for lying under oath
Former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini has been found guilty of perjury.
Dlamini was convicted after she was found to have given false evidence during a 2017 inquiry into the social grants crisis.
The inquiry investigated whether she had appointed work streams to ensure SASSA could take over the payment of social grants from service provider, Cash Paymaster Services.
The inquiry found Dlamini failed to disclose some information adding she was also an evasive witness.
"I am therefore satisfied that the State has succeeded beyond a reasonable doubt to prove a case against the accused on the main count,” Magistrate Betty Khumalo said.
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"The accused is accordingly found guilty as charged in respect of the main charge of perjury.”
Khumalo handed down the verdict in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday afternoon.
"The defence's argument that the State's use of the words 'Meetings of the work streams' as compared to using rather the words 'Meetings with the work streams'.
"It is in this court's view that the defence is merely grasping the straws here and playing with semantics. It is, therefore, this court's view that the argument has no merit."
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