Mbete and Gigaba not returning to National Assembly
Former National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete and former cabinet minister Malusi Gigaba will not take up their seats in the National Assembly, the ANC announced on Tuesday.
The pair withdrew their names from the ANC’s MP list hours before the party’s caucus meeting.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours before the swearing-in of MPs for the country's 6th democratic Parliament.
The ANC confirmed the news in a statement.
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"The office of the secretary-general has also received and accepted notices of withdrawal from the ANC’s Parliamentary list from the former Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete and comrade Malusi Gigaba,” says national spokesperson Pule Mabe.
"The ANC has undertaken all the necessary formalities in relation to the replenishment of the Parliamentary list.”
Mbete's decision brings to an end a parliamentary career spanning more than two decades.
Gigaba resigned as minister in a cloud of controversy in November last year after he was found to have lied under oath to the public protector and the courts. Questions have also been asked about his links to the controversial Gupta family.