The Department of Foreign Affairs has laid charges of misconduct against its former ambassador to Brazil Mbulelo Rakwena for allegedly contravening the foreign service code.
Rakwena is to appear before the department’s internal disciplinary committee before the end of the month. It is not yet clear what the indictments against him are and he has not yet been suspended.
Foreign affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the matter was an ”internal, departmental” one and would not comment further.
A statement released by the department in reaction to an article in the Mail & Guardian two weeks ago, revealing that Rakwena, now a chief director for Latin America, had been promoted to his current position despite damning allegations of financial mismanagement and dishonesty while he was a diplomat, disputes that this is the case. Instead it states that ”his promotion predates the allegations”.
The M&G reported that allegations against Rakwena date as far back as 2001, when he was first accused of corruption by the former head of management at the South African embassy in Brazil, Botsang Moiloa. An Auditor General report of 2002/03 also reiterates some of the allegations levelled against Rakwena.
In response to the question about why it has taken them this long to charge Rakwena — it is over a year since Mkhuseli Apleni, the deputy director general in the corporate services, completed his investigations — Mamoepa said ”we had already charged him at the beginning of the month [October]”.
However, when Mamoepa was asked this question two weeks ago, he responded, ”Does a person need to be disadvantaged on the basis of allegations and a report?”