President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, has distanced the president from controversial tenderpreneur Hangwani Maumela, saying they are not related.
This is after a video surfaced showing Ramaphosa outside the home of Maumela in Sandton, which was raided by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) last week. Three Lamborghinis, expensive furniture and art were seized.
An SIU investigation has identified Maumela as one of three syndicates behind the looting of R2bn from Tembisa Hospital through a complex web of corruption and fraud. The SIU’s interim report names the Maumela syndicate as the largest beneficiary, securing about R816m in tenders and linked to dozens of front companies.
Viral video clarified
On Monday, Magwenya described as false a viral video of Ramaphosa outside Maumela’s home. He said the video, which has been shared widely on social media, was recorded on September 23 2023.
He said it was taken during one of the president’s walks down the street. He was stopped by radio personality Tbo Touch and they recorded a video and took pictures outside Maumela’s house on Oxford Avenue, the president’s spokesperson said.
“They were not visiting the house or coming out of the house. The president did not even know whose house it was at the time,” Magwenya said, adding that Maumela’s house was not too far from the president’s Hyde Park home. It was a lie the president visited the house every week, he said.
Magwenya said Ramaphosa was not related to Maumela. “We note the ongoing desperate attempts to continue perpetuating this falsehood to link this gentleman to the president. Just before the president was appointed deputy president, he instructed his immediate family to immediately stop any business with the state. Maumela was not part of the family gathering,” he said.
“We reject the narrative that seeks to link his existence to the president.”
Assets frozen
Luxury properties in Hartbeespoort, Sandton, Zimbali and Cape Town; high-end vehicles, including Lamborghinis and a Bentley Continental; and leisure assets, such as a boat, have been traced to Maumela’s network and frozen by the SIU’s investigators.
The investigation identified at least 207 service providers that traded with Tembisa Hospital and has so far referred 108 matters to the provincial health department for administrative and disciplinary action. The SIU has also compiled evidence that R122m in corrupt payments flowed to officials.
Whistle-blower Babita Deokaran was assassinated in August 2021 after sounding the alarm about corruption at the hospital. For their troubles, the employees “who turned a blind eye and allowed the public money to be looted” were handsomely rewarded, pocketing a collective R122m, SIU head Andy Mothibi said last week, adding that about R30m was paid to one official alone.
“This staggering amount of money, to take care of the most vulnerable, was ruthlessly siphoned off through a complex web of fraud and corruption,” said Mothibi, referring to the R2bn headline figure, which surpasses the original amount of R850m flagged by Deokaran.
GOOD party secretary-general Brett Herron said: “GOOD once again calls on the National Prosecuting Authority, in tandem with its colleagues in the security cluster, to ensure that prosecutions occur without fear or favour.”
Cosatu spokesperson Zanele Sabela said the labour federation noted the raid at Maumela’s luxury property and commended the SIU for the “stellar work they continue to do and calls on them to not stop at seizing ill-gotten assets but to ensure that culprits are prosecuted and imprisoned for a long time”.
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