eNCA left red-faced over Shivambu headline

News channel eNCA appear to have missed the mark when they reported that Economic Freedom Fighters deputy president Floyd Shivambu was named in a recent VBS mutual bank report.

It was, in fact, Floyd’s brother Brian who was fingered in a report by advocate Terry Motau and law firm Werksmans Attorneys.

The report commissioned by the South African Reserve Bank pointed to Brian, among several others including two ANC officials, to have benefited from the R2 billion bank scandal.

eNCA appears to have jumped the gun, implicating Floyd in the Motau’s report.

This was quickly spotted by EFF’s spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlosi who tweeted the channel to fix their apparent mistake.

eNCAwrote on their strap: “EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu and his brother Brian have been named in the report.”

The strap is usually added to a TV report to introduce the person speaking. eNCA, in this case, seems to have roped Floyd into Motau’s report.

This comes after the news channel held a debate this week discussing a Sunday Times apology for missing the mark in reporting the Cato Manor, Sars, and Zimbabwean renditions stories.

The only Shivambu brother to be named in the report is Brian who has denied receiving money from VBS mutual bank who also has threatened legal action against those who have defamed him.

As the owner of Sgameka projects, which allegedly received the R16 million, Brian said his company did not have a working relationship with VBS and has never received any payment from the mutual bank.

In a statement, he claimed his company was contracted to provide professional consulting services for Vele Investments. None of the investors contacted him, according to Brian, even though the report named him among other officials.

He claimed the investors did not get back to him. If they had, he said he would have demonstrated to them that he had no dealings with VBS.

Brian denies the allegation that he engaged with municipalities and encouraged them to put money into VBS.

Both the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority have teamed up to investigate the looting of funds from the Venda based bank. The team is headed by the NPA.

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