Mildred Mpaka Explained

Party:African National Congress
Office1:Member of the National Assembly
Termstart1:10 August 1999
Termend1:1 August 2005
Citizenship:South Africa
Birth Date:20 December 1966

Hlonitshwa Mildred Mpaka (born 20 December 1966)[1] is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2005. She resigned from her seat during the Travelgate scandal, in which she was convicted of having defrauded Parliament.

Legislative career

Mpaka joined the National Assembly on 10 August 1999, filling the casual vacancy created by Janet Love's resignation.[2] She was elected to a full term in the seat in the 2004 general election.

Travelgate

In March 2005, Mpaka was among the first MPs convicted on a criminal charge for abusing parliamentary travel vouchers in the Travelgate scandal.[3] She accepted a plea deal with the Scorpions, in terms of which she pled guilty to defrauding Parliament of service benefits worth R75,000. She was sentenced to pay a fine of R80,000 or serve two years' imprisonment, in addition to a mandatory five-year suspended prison sentence.

In June 2005, Mpaka and four other convicted MPs – Ruth Bhengu, Mavis Magazi, Rhoda Joemat, and Pamela Mnandi – announced that they would resign from the National Assembly.[4] Mpaka left her seat on 1 August 2005.[5]

Notes and References

  1. 20 April 2004 . General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004 . . Pretoria, South Africa . . 466 . 2677 . 4–95 . 26 March 2021.
  2. Web site: 2002-06-02 . The National Assembly List of Resinations and Nominations . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20020602095739/http://parliament.gov.za/na/resign.htm . 2 June 2002 . 2023-04-02 . Parliament of South Africa.
  3. Web site: 2005-03-18 . First MPs convicted of Travelgate fraud . 2023-05-13 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
  4. Web site: 2005-06-23 . Travelgate MPs resign from Parliament . 2023-05-13 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
  5. Web site: 2009-01-15 . National Assembly Members . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090514071402/http://www.pmg.org.za/parlinfo/nalist#_ftnref87 . 14 May 2009 . 2023-04-08 . Parliamentary Monitoring Group.