On the 27th of February 2019, then Minister of Transport and Communication, Dr Brian Mushimba, stated on his Twitter page that he had paid the cost of his evacuation to South Africa for treatment of a broken arm sustained in a car accident, from his own resources. He further said he was willing to prove this through receipts. This was in response to suggestions by members of the public that the evacuation had been paid for by public resources.
🔎 Claim Checked: Then Minister of Transport and Communication, Dr Brian Mushimba, paid for his medical treatment at the Arwyp medical centre in Johannesburg, South Africa from his own resources.
Following an undertaking made on Twitter to the public to provide receipts showing that his evacuation to South Africa was paid for by personal resources, the Alliance for Community Action Fact Checking Unit wrote to Minister Mushimba asking him to provide the following information to prove his claim:
- Proof of payment for flight ticket
- Proof of payment for medical bills
Despite several follow-ups with his office, the Minister did not provide the information requested. The ACA Fact Checking Unit then wrote another letter on the 18th of July 2019 informing the Minister that the Unit would finalise and publish the fact-checking story. A verbal response from the Minister’s office stated that the Minister would not provide the information. No written response was received by the unit.
Conclusion
The ACA Fact Checking Unit is unable to determine if the claim made by then Minister of Transport and Communication, Dr Brian Mushimba, that his evacuation for treatment in South Africa was fully paid for from his own resources is true or false, as he has failed to provide information that proved the claim.
The ACA Fact-checking Unit is part of the EU funded ‘Ask Project’