Mildred Mpaka

Mildred Mpaka
Member of the National Assembly
In office
10 August 1999 – 1 August 2005
Personal details
Born (1966-12-20) 20 December 1966 (age 58)
CitizenshipSouth Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress

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.[1]

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.[3]

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]

References

  1. ^ a b "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" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. ^ "The National Assembly List of Resinations and Nominations". Parliament of South Africa. 2 June 2002. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b "First MPs convicted of Travelgate fraud". The Mail & Guardian. 18 March 2005. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Travelgate MPs resign from Parliament". The Mail & Guardian. 23 June 2005. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  5. ^ "National Assembly Members". Parliamentary Monitoring Group. 15 January 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2023.