A forensic report commissioned by the Progressive Business Forum (PBF) — the business arm of the ANC — has called for its findings to be formally submitted to the Madlanga commission after what it calls a “co-ordinated and deliberate disinformation campaign” targeting senior figures in the party’s fundraising wing.
The PBF investigation found that fake social media accounts, cloned mobile numbers and fabricated news posts were used to spread false claims linking Gwen Ramokgopa, the ANC’s treasurer general and PBF chairperson, and her associates to businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who faces corruption and money-laundering charges.
The recommended referral of these findings to the Madlanga Commission takes on added significance in light of growing scrutiny over ANC fundraising practices, especially relating to Matlala’s alleged involvement in political funding.
In testimony before the Madlanga commission earlier this year, SAPS crime intelligence head Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo detailed how Matlala had paid political operator Brown Mogotsi to influence decisions by suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu to allegedly avert a major police tender worth R360m.
Khumalo’s submission to the commission claimed messages retrieved from Matlala’s cellphone showed he had directed funds to Mogotsi for use in ANC events, effectively channelling financial influence over procurement decisions.
The forensic report, which was presented to the ANC’s PBF board last week, says following testimony at the Madlanga Commission, there was a “deliberate and orchestrated online attack using falsified and defamatory content” targeting it.
Multiple reputable organisations have formally denied authorship of the posts attributed to them.
— Forensic report
“These fabrications reflect a calculated pattern of digital impersonation and reputational sabotage,” the report states.
The probe found media outlets were used as conduits for false allegations that the PBF and Ramokgopa had received illicit funds from businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
“Multiple reputable organisations have formally denied authorship of the posts attributed to them,” the report reads.
Tayfin Forensic and Investigative Auditors, the auditors who conducted the report, traced a WhatsApp impersonation of a supposed government official, “Nomvula Khalo”, who sent defamatory messages to a senior health department official. The number was registered under the alias Black Consciousness, reinforcing suspicions of deliberate misrepresentation.
“The evidence strongly suggests deliberate impersonation of a government official, seemingly orchestrated to create credibility for false information,” the report reads.
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