- President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on Justice Minister Thembi Simelane to explain his involvement in the VBS corruption scandal.
- While he was mayor of Polokwane, Simelane received loans from companies that brokered deals between the city and VBS bank.
- Several political parties and civil society groups have expressed concern that there may be a conflict of interest in the fact that the justice minister, who oversees the NPA, is also embroiled in the VBS scandal.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has asked Justice Minister Thembi Simelane for a detailed explanation over his involvement in the VBS scandal.
On Monday, News24 and Daily Maverick reported on a joint investigation which revealed Simelane had taken out a R575,600 “commercial loan” from Gund Wealth Solutions, owned by Laliom Raswinane, to buy a coffee shop in Sandton.
WATCH | Minister of Justice receives R500,000 'loan' from suspected VBS investment broker
At the time, Simelane was mayor of Polokwane and the city government illegally invested R349 million in VBS, brokered by Raswinane's Gundo.
A forensic investigation found that VBS paid bribes worth R24.2 million to Raswinane in return for brokering investments from various municipalities and government agencies through allegedly corrupt deals and breaches of the Local Government Finance Management Act.
He is currently on trial on charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering for his role as an intermediary connecting VBS with municipalities, including the City of Polokwane.
READ | NGOs call on Justice Minister Simelane to come clean about VBS involvement
Simelane was appointed justice minister in July and now oversees the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which is investigating and prosecuting crimes related to the collapse of VBS.
The President's Office issued a statement on Wednesday morning after ignoring News24's request for comment on Monday.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa has noted with concern media reports containing corruption allegations against the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Thembi Simelane,” Ramaphosa's presidential spokesman Vincent Mugwenya said.
“Media reports have suggested that the minister was involved in allegations of corruptly receiving funds from VBS Mutual Bank during his tenure as Polokwane mayor.”
The statement continues:
The President has sought a detailed report and explanation from the Minister on this matter.
Political parties including the DA, ActionSA and GOOD have raised concerns that the minister who oversees the NPA has a clear conflict of interest in being embroiled in the VBS scandal. ActionSA has called for the Public Protector to investigate, the DA wants the minister to appear before the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Committee and GOOD has called on President Ramaphosa to sack the minister.
EFF leader Julius Malema and former deputy leader Floyd Shivambu – now with MKP – also face allegations of profiting from VBS loot and have called on Simelane to step down.
In a joint statement released on Tuesday, Freedom Under Law (FUL), Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Judges Matter and Defend Our Democracy expressed their concerns.
READ | Tony Leung | The big political question on Simelane and Motsoaledi: “Am I a contradiction?”
Simelane maintained the transactions were legitimate commercial loans that had been repaid in full, but failed to provide loan agreements or evidence of loan settlement, he noted.
“It is vital that the minister responds fully and transparently to these allegations. Perceptions of corruption and conflicts of interest seriously damage public trust in governing institutions and the rule of law,” the statement said.