The Ministry of Social Development on Thursday issued a combative statement accusing former departmental spokesperson Lumka Oliphant of orchestrating a deliberate and sustained campaign to mislead the public and undermine Minister Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe’s leadership.
However, Oliphant has fired back with a catalogue of her own allegations.
Tolashe’s utterances came a day after the department had urged media restraint amid a wave of investigative reporting into alleged misconduct at the highest levels of the department.
Why ministry says Oliphant is behind campaign
According to a departmental statement titled “Minister Tolashe pushes back against coordinated misinformation”, Oliphant is alleged to have sought to damage Tolashe’s reputation following her dismissal.
The department confirmed that Oliphant was placed on precautionary suspension on 1 September 2025 and dismissed on 17 October 2025.
It said she was dismissed “after failing to provide satisfactory representations on the charges brought against her”.
The ministry added that the allegations against Oliphant pointed to “significant governance and procurement irregularities” as well as mismanagement of public resources and gross administrative misconduct.
Rather than pursue appropriate legal and institutional channels, the ministry said, Oliphant had chosen to go public with unsubstantiated claims.
“This conduct is clearly aimed at diverting attention from the real reasons for her dismissal and sowing confusion in the public domain,” it said.
The ministry also dismissed attempts to implicate Tolashe personally in matters outside her current portfolio as “baseless,” describing them as part of a broader effort to discredit the minister at a time when she is actively implementing consequence management and strengthening governance within the department.
Oliphant hits back: ‘I did not lie to parliament; she did’
Oliphant was having none of it. In a detailed rebuttal on Thursday, she turned the spotlight back on Tolashe, rattling off a list of allegations she says the minister has yet to publicly account for.
“I did not appoint an unqualified person in my office, I did not defy Cabinet and the president by giving the DG [director-general] five years against the one year they were given,” Oliphant told The Citizen. “I did not shield my adviser, who equally doesn’t qualify for the position, and I did not lie to parliament. She did.”
She went further, accusing the minister of advertising a director-general post without presidential approval. Oliphant also raised what she described as the matter of stolen vehicles revealed by a Daily Maverick investigation.
“I did not steal cars from the ANC Women’s League or the ANC. I did not do any of those things,” she said.
Oliphant claimed that the facts surrounding Tolashe’s indiscretions had previously been heard by parliament. She emphasised that this was public information.
“I am sure South Africans are able to go to all the departmental annual reports. These are public documents that people can go to and find those documents.
“These things were tabled in parliament. I’m even sure that by now you can directly go and ask the auditor-general because I should be arrested, like she should be arrested, as we’re talking now,” said Oliphant.
She added that Tolashe was shifting the blame onto her to shift the spotlight away from herself. “The minister must not divert the questions that she needs to give to the president.”
‘South Africans are suffering’ under Tolashe’s leadership
Beyond her point-by-point rebuttals, Oliphant levelled a broader critique at Tolashe’s performance as minister, arguing that key social development priorities have gone silent under her watch.
“Nothing is happening in that department. She is pushing nothing except for going to the eye crop that she goes with Sassa,” Oliphant said.
She questioned when the public had last heard the minister champion causes around drug and alcohol abuse, child protection or the welfare of elderly South Africans – all areas that fall squarely within the department’s mandate.
“South Africans are suffering since she went into that position,” Oliphant said. “She is busy making sure that she disparages my name instead of focusing on her political career.”
Oliphant calls for Tolashe to resign
Oliphant did not stop at policy criticism.
She issued Tolashe a personal challenge, questioning the minister’s credentials as a struggle figure and demanding photographic evidence to support any claims of political imprisonment during the liberation movement.
“I challenge the minister to give us the correct history. Where was she arrested for her role in this country’s struggle? Even a two-year-old in this country can tell you where Mandela was arrested, and they can give you his cell number,” Oliphant said.
“Can she please tell us which prison she was arrested in?”
She closed by calling on Tolashe to step down entirely.
“She must go to the president and submit her resignation so that South Africans can sleep peacefully and the taxpayers of this country can know that they’ll have people who are competent,” Oliphant said. “Can she produce all the evidence that she says about me? That’s all.”
Department’s call for media restraint
Thursday’s combative statement followed a holding statement issued by the Department of Social Development on Wednesday, calling on journalists to exercise restraint and observe due process amid a wave of investigative reporting.
“While the Minister of Social Development, Ms Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe, welcomes robust and constructive engagement as part of a healthy democratic environment, it is inappropriate for media platforms to be used to advance personal grievances or promote narratives that rely on inflammatory or defamatory language,” the department said on Wednesday.
That call for restraint came even as several separate reports and investigations raised serious questions about conduct at the highest levels of the department.
On Thursday, the ministry maintained that Tolashe had been decisive in addressing irregularities since taking office, and that she would not be deterred.
“The minister will not be intimidated or distracted by attempts to derail this work,” it said, adding that Tolashe would present “a full and factual account to parliament on all matters within her responsibility” at an appropriate time.
