Dondo Mogajane is alleged to have been offered a bribe from VBS Mutual Bank. [Picture: Gallo Images]
The supposed third director of an NPO, with alleged connections to VBS Mutual Bank and former Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane, was unaware of the foundation’s existence. This was revealed by amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism.
Speaking in an interview with Salaamedia on Wednesday, investigative journalist Dewald Van Rensburg said the curious part was that one Phemelo Tshoeu claimed to know nothing about the Baphilile Foundation, of which she was supposedly the third director.
“That third director told us that she had no idea this thing existed, never signed any paperwork to be a director and is really quite upset about this … That’s an interesting twist which raises questions about the bona fides of this foundation,” said Van Rensburg.
Tshoeu is director alongside Philile Mkhize and Londiwe Mavundla – both daughters of the late deputy minister in the Presidency, Hlengiwe Mkhize.
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The foundation received approximately R1 million from the bank. While it is unclear whether Mogojane received the money, he is alleged to have arranged for the payment in exchange for a more lenient stance on the bank.
About bribery allegations, Van Rensburg said: “He denies that he was bribed, but he does not deny that he had private meetings. That already is incredibly inappropriate [because] VBS was at this point suing Treasury to hold this instruction to those municipalities, so there is no legitimate reason for those meetings”.
“Banking records we have access to show that this foundation in fact was paid R1 million. That, of course, doesn’t prove definitively that that was then immediately handed over to Mogajane, but it does correspond with [Tshifhiwa] Mathodzi’s allegation,” he added.
