ANC veteran and businessman Tokyo Sexwale Picture: Gallo Images.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) have found that claims made by African National Congress (ANC) veteran and businessman Tokyo Sexwale about the White Spiritual Boy Trust are “unsubstantiated”.
This was announced by Hawks head Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya.
Lebeya was briefing the nation on Thursday to take stock of the milestones the Hawks achieved during the fourth quarter – including arrests, convictions and sentencing.
In 2021, Sexwale, a one-time presidential hopeful, claimed the “heritage fund” worth over R100 trillion belonged to powerful families in the world and was intended for public spending on education and fighting Covid-19.
ALSO READ: Buckle up! We fell down the White Spiritual Boy Trust rabbit hole
He also claimed that the secret fund was already moving money through the South African Reserve Bank and added that the matter had been urgently raised with then Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni and his predecessor, as well as ANC leaders and President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Lebeya said that allegations made by Sexwale are “unsubstantiated”.
“All that we are saying, at this stage, we have filed as unsubstantiated. If there is substance that comes at a later stage, we can still pursue.
“The case of White Spiritual Boy Trust laid by Dr Sexwale has now been concluded with the allegations unsubstantiated.”
ALSO READ: Who is Sexwale’s mysterious ally, Mr Fanie Fondse?
Lebeya also confirmed that the Hawks are investigating charges of extortion and bribery laid by suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane against three parliamentary MPs.
“We are investigating the complaint that has been lodged by the public protector with regards to the allegations of corruption. There are certain investigations that we are pursuing, [we’ve] worked with prosecutors and approached the court to get certain authorities to do certain things.
“This is a new matter and we have to systematically search for the truth, which is the signs that we deploy when we conduct the investigation,” Lebeya said.
Lebeya said during the fourth quarter, the Hawks also arrested at least 701 suspects.
“Two hundred and eighty-four accused persons were convicted and sentenced which earned them a title of being a criminal. Thirty-eight suspects were arrested by the Hawks for cash-in-transit (CIT) heists while four were convicted and sentenced during this quarter.
In addition, 30 suspects were arrested for CIT related offences. Thirteen suspects were arrested by the DPCI for murder of police officials while six were convicted and sentenced to share ten life imprisonment terms, he said.
Lebeya only highlighted 32 cases which represent 3% of the 985 successful cases of the Hawks.
ALSO READ: Gauteng records worrying increases in violent crimes
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