‘I’ll debate you in front of a judge’ – Journo tells Mpofu to save VBS argument for court

Former EFF national chairperson Dali Mpofu has challenged Daily Maverick journalist Pauli van Wyk to a debate on the VBS Mutual Bank saga that has gripped the country.

Mpofu, during an interview on Newzroom Afrika on Sunday, said the red berets never denied receiving “donations” from VBS Mutual Bank. The looting of the bank left pensioners penniless.

The EFF, its leader Julius Malema, deputy Floyd Shivambu and Floyd’s brother Brian, have been thrust into the spotlight for receiving funds from the now defunct bank.

VBS donations to EFF

Last week former VBS Mutual Bank chairperson Tshifhiwa Matodzi’s 70-page explosive affidavit was leaked and went viral on social media, just a day after the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria sentenced the 47-year-old Matodzi to an effective 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to 33 counts including corruption, theft, fraud and money laundering, which led to the bank’s collapse.

In his affidavit, Mtodzi claimed he made donations to the EFF after meeting leader Malema and Shivambu in exchange for positive publicity and to silence their criticism about the bank giving former president Jacob Zuma a loan for Nkandla.

A lump sum of R5m followed by R1m monthly “donations” was the price, he claimed.

ALSO READ: EFF willing to pay back donations ‘traced to any criminal activity’ – Mpofu on VBS

During his interview, Mpofu never denied the EFF received VBS funds. “There’s never been a denial of that. That’s why I’m saying there’s nothing new.”

“You must separate what he calls a donation, which is what happens to political parties. There is no political party that doesn’t receive donations,” Mpofu said.

Despite the acceptance of donations, he denied allegations of fraud and corruption

“What is being said is that there is corruption. I said, where is the corruption? Where’s the fraud and where’s the money laundering or any crime? We are tired of having to say the same thing about this. Every time someone speaks, it is blown up as if something new has come up.”

Spat on social media

However, Van Wyk included a video of a 2018 Sona debate in which Shivambu said: “EFF and ourselves as members of parliament never benefitted anything from the VBS looting and the so-called heist that happened there…”

Mpofu accused Van Wyk of confusing the issues of a “donation and loan”.

“You are an unrepentant liar, madam. You can mislead your unsuspecting fans but we won’t allow you to get away with your agenda-driven lies. You are deliberately mixing up the issues of the PR explanation, the donation and the loan. Agree to a public debate on this? Anytime… anywhere!”

Van Wyk, who has been at the forefront of reporting on the VBS bank saga for the Daily Maverick, hit back.

“I’ll debate you in front of a judge in a court. I don’t play with concepts like PR explanations vs truth. You can ask the judge about the interpretation of “donation” and “gratification”… Bring along Floyd Shivambu, Julius Malema and Brian Shivambu too.”

I'll debate you in front of a judge in a court.
I don't play with concepts like PR explanations vs truth.
You can ask the judge about the interpretation of "donation" & "gratification" under Poca and Precca. Bring along Floyd Shivambu, Julius Malema and Brian Shivambu too.#VBS https://t.co/4UpFlUK8Nj

— Pauli Van Wyk (@PaulivW) July 15, 2024

EFF payments

Matodzi claimed there was no legitimate business reason for the payments. Malema and Shivambu allegedly told him they needed money for their restaurant in Soweto, adding that they tried to “regularise” the payments after the curatorship of VBS by backdating a contract that was never entered into.

“To my knowledge, Sgameka is a company owned by Brian Shivambu, a brother to Floyd Shivambu who is the deputy president of EFF. The company was provided to me by Floyd to make payments that I promised to EFF.

“I made this promise following the news which had broken in the media that VBS had granted President [Jacob] Zuma a home loan for his Nkandla residence. Negative publicity arose in the country, particularly from those who were opposed to Zuma at the time. Amongst those was the EFF,” Matodzi said in his court papers.

The EFF was among the most vociferous critics of the VBS loan to Zuma.

ALSO READ: Former VBS boss Matodzi accuses Malema and Shivambu of ‘fleecing millions’ from bank