New MK Party MP Molefe says there are no facts to support corruption claims against him

CAPE TOWN - Former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe said there were no facts to support corruption claims against him.

He’s dismissed state capture as a concept conjured up by the World Bank and used to target him and other former SOE heads who were sworn in as parliamentarians for the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party on Wednesday. 

It’s the second time that Molefe joins the parliamentary benches.

Brian Molefe’s first stint as an MP was a very brief one in 2017, when former President Jacob Zuma was believed to want Molefe to replace Pravin Gordhan as the then-finance minister.

On Wednesday, Molefe said that state capture was a narrative used during Thuli Madonsela’s tenure as Public Protector but one that had not stood up in law. 

"If I transferred money to the Guptas unlawfully, throw me into prison. But we must first go to court and you must act in terms of what the Constitution says, and you must give me a fair trial." 

Molefe has accused the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of refusing to allow him a lawyer of his choice to defend him in matters he’s facing. 

"If there’s a case, there’s a case. They must just come and present their case in front of a judge."

A trial date for a case in which Molefe and his new parliamentary colleague, Siyabonga Gama, are accused of corruption during their tenure at Transnet is due to be set in October.