An EFF councillor has been accused of extorting R6m from a contractor building the Mpumalanga parliamentary village.
In a secret recording, EFF PR councillor Nyankwabe Thomas Mnisi is heard saying the contractor must give him money or will “wake up in a mortuary”.
While he admits asking for money, Mnisi claimed that it was for the benefit of the community.
Mnisi is said to be leading a group of men who have been allegedly extorting money from contractors working on government projects in and around Mbombela. They allegedly demand bribes and threaten to mobilise to disrupt or shutdown construction sites if their demands aren’t met.
The latest incident involved White Hazy Construction hired to build a R300m parliamentary village in the Mataffin area where Mnisi is a councillor. Mnisi has allegedly threatened the contractor to either vacate the site or pay him 30% of the contract which he said was meant for the community.
The construction of the village started in 2017, however, the project has stalled because of labour disputes and protests which resulted in the laying off of some workers. It’s alleged that Mnisi hijacked these protests in a guise of saving jobs for the people of Mataffin and last month demanded money to have the site reopened.
The company’s owner, Saul Siwela, said Mnisi had been receiving donations from him on behalf of the community since the beginning of the project and these payments escalated to “extortion” this year following a dispute between the company and its employees.
Mnisi called a meeting with Siwela’s son and another company manager last month where he was secretly recorded asking for money and he expressed displeasure at the company’s failure to pay him for past projects.
“Don’t be afraid of what I’m saying... I told him (Siwela) to press for R6m. I’m counting the R6m and the parliament project... I was supposed to benefit from both... Can you see that he is undermining me? It means I’m living for him.
“A lot of people want to see him fall but I’m still giving him a chance... If he sells the information, I’ll hurt him... He’ll wake up in the morgue and he’ll know that it’s my doing... I won’t leave him. We’ve come from far,” Mnisi could be heard saying in the recording.
Mnisi told Sowetan he knew about the meeting between himself and the company but was not aware he was being recorded.
“Yes we met to discuss the issue of R6m... I did ask for the money because it’s mine and Siwela knows the work I have been doing for him like blocking other contractors from working so that he works. That project should benefit people of Mataffin and he took it and fired workers in the process and the people now don’t have jobs. It’s true he has given me money before but I can’t say for what, you must ask him,” said Mnisi.
He said Siwela must open a criminal case if he thinks he’s being extorted.
Siwela said he hadn’t gone to the authorities because of his lack of trust in the police after they failed to effect a court order against the employees he fired .
Siwela said "Nothing connects me to that man. I made a mistake of initially paying him."
Pule Shakoane, owner of Sizampilo Construction in Mbombela, also claimed to have fallen victim to Mnisi two weeks ago and he allegedly paid him R50,000 after the councillor threatened to have his construction site closed by the community. Sizampilo is refurbishing the R40 road from Mbombela to White River.
Another contractor who did not want to be named, said he stopped taking Mnisi’s calls after he started threatening him and his family.
“They even told me they know where I stay and where my children live,” said the contractor.
Mnisi, who also admitted knowing both the contractors, dismissed their claims as lies.
EFF provincial chairperson Collen Sedibe said the party was not aware of the extortion claims against Mnisi and will investigate them and institute a disciplinary action if found to be true.
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