Africa-Press – South-Africa. Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda ran a scam where his business, iThemba Lama Afrika, conned unsuspecting Soweto residents in a scheme where they would make monthly payments for funeral insurance.
This is according to a Sunday Times report that cited an investigation by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
The FSCA revealed that Gwamanda – who is an Al Jama-ah councillor – operated the illegal business in 2012 and then disappeared when his clients came looking for their money.
Approached for a comment on Sunday morning, Gwamanda’s office told News24: “We’re not aware of any FSCA investigation or finding.”
Gwamanda told the Sunday Times: “I did have a social business at some point in my community where I come from. The business did fail. The customers and clients we were working with were engaged because they are my neighbours.
“I had taken ownership, I had presented myself to my clients and told them, ‘This is where the business is, we have failed, so what do we do’ and what were their expectations from me. And then it was closed in that manner.”
The allegations were initially made by the DA’s former mayor, Dr Mpho Phalatse, who alleged that Gwamanda may have been the hand behind the insurance scam.
At the time, the ANC claimed the allegations were baseless and said the party had vetted Gwamanda.
“As the ANC, we do not want to entertain gossip; those are just gossip and rumour-mongering, so until somebody comes out and says, ‘I was scammed’, we cannot entertain such gossip,” News24 quoted ANC regional secretary Sasabona Manganye as saying at the time.
“We vetted the mayor, and he met the minimum basic requirements. The vetting is the basic vetting of whether he has any criminal record, if there is any pending criminal case against him, and if he is insolvent.
“These things qualified him on whether he could be a mayor or not… That is why we are not worried.”
The Sunday Times reported that Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo confirmed a case against Gwamanda had been opened in May.
News24 called Masondo, but he did not answer his phone.
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