'Throw ex-High Commissioner Obed Mlaba in Jail' - SA Business Abroad

Report: High commissioner running SA’s embassy in London “like a spaza shop”

An expose by the Sunday Times has shed some light on SA’s high commissioner to the UK, Obed Mlaba, and just what he’s reportedly been getting up to over there.

'Throw ex-High Commissioner Obed Mlaba in Jail' - SA Business Abroad

Obed Mlaba represents South Africa as one of our most senior diplomats, yet stands accused of using the high commission in the UK for personal enrichment.

This isn’t the first time Mlaba’s been implicated in shady deals though. When he was mayor of eThekwini and shortly before being posted in the UK, he was involved in a multi-million Rand waste management tender scandal, and it would seem as if he’s never really kicked the habit.

The Sunday Times reports that Mlaba’s been using his official position to leverage lucrative personal business deals as well as generous donations for his foundation back home — nothing suspicious there –.

Mlaba’s reportedly been communicating with businesses in the UK and back home using SA government letterheads, negotiating personal business deals, and the paper reports that the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) has been trying since 2015 to get him to declare his personal business, as the department believes there is a “potential conflict of interest.”

In addition to digging around in the cookie jar, sources within Dirco claim Mlaba failed his security vetting back in 2013, yet was still deployed to the UK post.

Read the full report in the Sunday Times here.