A fraudster guilty of defrauding the state of millions of rands meant for former president Nelson Mandela’s funeral, provided a car to drive tycoon Tokyo Sexwale to the world icon’s funeral as a special favour.
The Saturday Dispatch can reveal that Sexwale was stranded at the East London airport on the morning of December 14 2013.
He was then driven in a luxury car belonging to a man at the centre of the Nelson Mandela funeral funds scandal – Mzwandile Sokwali of Victory Ticket 750cc.
The former minister in President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet and executive member of Fifa was driven in Sokwali’s seven-seater Chrysler Voyager.
This was as a special favour to Buffalo City Metro ANC regional secretary Pumlani Mkolo, the man believed to be the mastermind of the scam.
The latest revelations will embarrass Sexwale as they have dragged his name into the Mandela funeral fund scandal.
This is because the car may have been used in the commission of the sophisticated scam to defraud the state of the millions of rands meant for Mandela’s burial.
Sexwale was driven in the car a day after it had been used to transport Buffalo City Metro senior councillor Sindiswa Gomba and her team to a memorial service held in Port Elizabeth for Mandela.
The Port Elizabeth trip was sponsored and paid for by Sokwali – again at the instruction of Mkolo, according to documents and evidence before the courts.
Gomba, Sokwali and Mkolo are among those who have been arrested and charged for their role in the scandal.
The startling information was revealed in an affidavit Sokwali gave to the state as part of an investigation into the fraud scandal that rocked the nation.
It also revealed how several large amounts of cash were paid by Sokwali to Mkolo for “ANC events”.
In the affidavit, Sokwali said on Saturday, December 14 2013, Sexwale was “conveyed in my Chrysler Voyager from East London to Qunu. This occurred at the request of the regional secretary . He was to attend the funeral which was scheduled to take place the following day”.
The information has been corroborated by an East London man, Thobile Mtya.
Mtya, who is also a driver for Mkolo, confirmed he had driven Sexwale to the funeral in Sokwali’s luxury vehicle. “I drove Sexwale in that vehicle, which belonged to Sokwali to attend the funeral,” said Mtya.
Sexwale could not be reached for comment at the time of writing. His personal assistant, Eureka Smith, said she could not remember who organised transport for Sexwale at the time.
“It was definitely not from our office,” Smith said.
Mkolo and a faction of the Julius Malema-led ANC Youth league were key campaigners for Sexwale to be the deputy president when the ANC party held its elective conference in Mangaung in December 2012. Asked yesterday about his involvement in arranging Sexwale’s transportation, Mkolo ended the call and would not answer further questions.
Eastern Cape ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane distanced the party from the scandal, saying the ANC had nothing to do with transactions between Mkolo and Sokwali.
“As the province we are not aware of such money and we never demanded any money even from Sokwali. The best person to answer that is Mkolo,” he said.
In December 2013, Sokwali’s company, Victory Ticket 750cc, was awarded a R10-million tender to ferry mourners to several memorial services in and around BCM.
He was paid R5.985-million of the amount.
Dispatch investigations revealed the company was registered on the municipal database a day after being awarded the tender.
The latest affidavit exposes how senior officials at the municipality’s supply chain management were approached by Mkolo to assist in having Sokwali’s company registered.
It further details how Mkolo allegedly asked for more than R400000 from Sokwali, saying it would be used for ANC events.
In the affidavit, Sokwali details how he paid the following cash amounts to Mkolo:
lR180000 at Vincent;
l Another R60000 was paid to Mkolo at Sokwali’s Beacon Bay house;
lAnother R60000 at Sokwali’s house;
lR10000 was paid to Mkolo at Hemingways Mall;
l R56000 at Mkolo’s Gonubie home; and
lAn additional R40000 was paid to Mkolo on January 8 for food.
Mkolo said he knew nothing about the money. He declined to comment further, saying the matter was sub judice.
Sokwali, his wife, Busisiwe Boti, and their company Victory Ticket 750cc were charged with several of the ANC’s provincial top brass for fraud and other related charges. There was a separation of trial and in December Boti was acquitted.
Sokwali pleaded guilty to contravening Section 34(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act in that he did not tell police that he knew or suspected that fraud, money laundering and other crimes may have been or had been committed.
Sokwali was sentenced to five years in prison, wholly suspended for five years, while Victory Ticket was fined R100000, of which R50000 was suspended.
Mkolo and his co-accused go back to court on February 25.
Madiba fraudster's favour to Sexwale
The Saturday Dispatch can reveal that Sexwale was stranded at the East London airport on the morning of December 14 2013.
He was then driven in a luxury car belonging to a man at the centre of the Nelson Mandela funeral funds scandal – Mzwandile Sokwali of Victory Ticket 750cc.
The former minister in President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet and executive member of Fifa was driven in Sokwali’s seven-seater Chrysler Voyager.
This was as a special favour to Buffalo City Metro ANC regional secretary Pumlani Mkolo, the man believed to be the mastermind of the scam.
The latest revelations will embarrass Sexwale as they have dragged his name into the Mandela funeral fund scandal.
This is because the car may have been used in the commission of the sophisticated scam to defraud the state of the millions of rands meant for Mandela’s burial.
Sexwale was driven in the car a day after it had been used to transport Buffalo City Metro senior councillor Sindiswa Gomba and her team to a memorial service held in Port Elizabeth for Mandela.
The Port Elizabeth trip was sponsored and paid for by Sokwali – again at the instruction of Mkolo, according to documents and evidence before the courts.
Gomba, Sokwali and Mkolo are among those who have been arrested and charged for their role in the scandal.
The startling information was revealed in an affidavit Sokwali gave to the state as part of an investigation into the fraud scandal that rocked the nation.
It also revealed how several large amounts of cash were paid by Sokwali to Mkolo for “ANC events”.
In the affidavit, Sokwali said on Saturday, December 14 2013, Sexwale was “conveyed in my Chrysler Voyager from East London to Qunu. This occurred at the request of the regional secretary . He was to attend the funeral which was scheduled to take place the following day”.
The information has been corroborated by an East London man, Thobile Mtya.
Mtya, who is also a driver for Mkolo, confirmed he had driven Sexwale to the funeral in Sokwali’s luxury vehicle. “I drove Sexwale in that vehicle, which belonged to Sokwali to attend the funeral,” said Mtya.
Sexwale could not be reached for comment at the time of writing. His personal assistant, Eureka Smith, said she could not remember who organised transport for Sexwale at the time.
“It was definitely not from our office,” Smith said.
Mkolo and a faction of the Julius Malema-led ANC Youth league were key campaigners for Sexwale to be the deputy president when the ANC party held its elective conference in Mangaung in December 2012. Asked yesterday about his involvement in arranging Sexwale’s transportation, Mkolo ended the call and would not answer further questions.
Eastern Cape ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane distanced the party from the scandal, saying the ANC had nothing to do with transactions between Mkolo and Sokwali.
“As the province we are not aware of such money and we never demanded any money even from Sokwali. The best person to answer that is Mkolo,” he said.
In December 2013, Sokwali’s company, Victory Ticket 750cc, was awarded a R10-million tender to ferry mourners to several memorial services in and around BCM.
He was paid R5.985-million of the amount.
Dispatch investigations revealed the company was registered on the municipal database a day after being awarded the tender.
The latest affidavit exposes how senior officials at the municipality’s supply chain management were approached by Mkolo to assist in having Sokwali’s company registered.
It further details how Mkolo allegedly asked for more than R400000 from Sokwali, saying it would be used for ANC events.
In the affidavit, Sokwali details how he paid the following cash amounts to Mkolo:
lR180000 at Vincent;
l Another R60000 was paid to Mkolo at Sokwali’s Beacon Bay house;
lAnother R60000 at Sokwali’s house;
lR10000 was paid to Mkolo at Hemingways Mall;
l R56000 at Mkolo’s Gonubie home; and
lAn additional R40000 was paid to Mkolo on January 8 for food.
Mkolo said he knew nothing about the money. He declined to comment further, saying the matter was sub judice.
Sokwali, his wife, Busisiwe Boti, and their company Victory Ticket 750cc were charged with several of the ANC’s provincial top brass for fraud and other related charges. There was a separation of trial and in December Boti was acquitted.
Sokwali pleaded guilty to contravening Section 34(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act in that he did not tell police that he knew or suspected that fraud, money laundering and other crimes may have been or had been committed.
Sokwali was sentenced to five years in prison, wholly suspended for five years, while Victory Ticket was fined R100000, of which R50000 was suspended.
Mkolo and his co-accused go back to court on February 25.
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