Newly elected mayor of Johannesburg Kabelo Gwamanda says he did not scam or run away with people’s monies.
Gwamanda, who was elected mayor on Friday, has rubbished claims that he scammed residents through his entity, iThemba Lama Afrika, into investing in a funeral scheme that left investors hanging dry.
Sowetan has established that Gwamanda operated the company and other businesses from his home in Protea North, Soweto.
It is not clear if the company is still operational.
DA Joburg caucus leader Mpho Phalatse said she would “be bringing these allegations to the attention of the SAPS for further investigation along with a victim of this scheme”.
Phalatse gave Gwamanda 48 hours (from Saturday) to “take the public into his confidence by holding a public media briefing to provide clarity and assure the public that he will not interfere with this investigation”.
However, speaking to Sowetan on Sunday, Gwamanda and his office labelled the allegations as a “character assassination”.
Gwamanda denied he ran away with people’s money, adding that anyone who claimed he robbed them should open a case against him.
He said he would be opening his door and “encouraging anyone that was robbed by me to come forward”.
His office also said according to its records and clearance check, no case had been opened against him since he started the business.
“He is not going to be directed by the DA what to do and when to do it, however, the allegations have been taken very seriously and need to be treated as such.. It’s high time this cheap political tactics stops, I am here to serve our people. This is God’s will and no man can stand against it.
“[I am] not shaken or bothered by DA. Remember, DA’s political approach is attacking other political parties. No one knows what they stand for.”
When Sowetan visited the address of the iThemba Lama Afrika on Sunday, the team found a relatively small house which had a facebrick wall and a sliding steel gate.
A person who drove out of the yard, who identified himself as Melvin, said he was Gwamanda’s brother and did not want to say anything further.
Al-Jama-ah president Ganief Hendricks denied the allegations against Gwamanda.
“On Thursday, the ANC did a vetting process of Kabelo Gwamanda and the secretary-general of the party Fikile Mbalula said Gwamanda passed with a clean bill.
“On Friday, the [Gauteng] premier [Panyaza Lesufi] took all the political party leaders in the coalition into his confidence that he did a thorough check on the mayor because we do not want a similar situation like in Tshwane. The premier said the mayor had a clean bill. The other political party leaders in the coalition also said they did their checks and due diligence and they were satisfied with the mayor,” said Hendricks.
“We have nothing to say about the DA. They just want to disrupt the operations of the city and take us away from our focus, which is providing service delivery.”
Phalatse claimed alleged victims of the scam were being intimidated from reporting the matter to authorities.
“The DA takes this case very seriously, and we remain prepared to offer the necessary support that those affected may require in order to open a case. However, it has come to our attention that there is ongoing intimidation to discourage those affected from reporting the matter.
“We are in touch with the affected individuals and will advise on further developments,” said Phalatse.
She said she did not know the exact number of people affected.
“This is alleged to have happened in the Protea area mainly, and is said to have involved ordinary residents, burial societies, prison wardens etc. We would like to urge those affected to come forward.
“Depending on the number of complainants, and the amounts of money involved, we may be able to refer the matter to the Hawks,” said Phalatse.
According to a company search done by Sowetan, iThemba Lama Afrika was registered in February 2012 with a business address in Protea North.
Gwamanda also has other companies, which include Newtown Lifestyle Radio and PMPO General Trading and Projects, also based in Protea North. Newtown Lifestyle Radio was registered in 2017 and PMPO in 2006.
newsdesk@sowetan.co.za
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