Shivambu caught lying over ‘burglary’ at his ‘VBS flat’

This past weekend, The Citizen reported that a story in the Sunday World detailing claims by Floyd Shivambu of his flat being burgled had raised suspicion.

Analysts on eNCA’s The Fix discussed the story, pointing out it was apparently eerily similar to a story about Shivambu’s car being stolen when he was still a student leader years ago.

Also, a local police spokesperson told Sunday World they had no record of the case despite Shivambu claiming he had reported it.

The plot has now thickened, with the Mail & Guardian reporting that Shivambu has now denied not only that there was a burglary at the flat but that he lives there at all.

And, according to the newspaper’s story, there’s a very good reason for his denial. The townhouse in Fourways appears to have been bought using a R400,000 deposit put down by Floyd’s brother Brian. The source of the money? VBS Bank.

Sunday World reported that Shivambu’s “luxurious townhouse complex” was broken into “by thugs” earlier this month, but no police case was registered and a complaint was not even laid with the security company at the Pine Avon complex.

All that was reportedly stolen were “two laptops, two cellphones, and valuable documents”.

READ MORE: Not everyone is convinced by Floyd Shivambu’s burglary story

Shivambu supposedly even got a call from the thieves the next day telling him they had enjoyed drinking some of his expensive whisky (though they apparently didn’t steal the actual bottles).

Shivambu told the tabloid that he had reported the burglary to the police, who were “puzzled by it”. He claimed his security system had been destroyed, and he was surprised that valuables such as jewellery and watches had not been taken. He speculated it was more an act of intimidation than anything else.

The details left many on social media expressing their view that the whole shenanigan may have been a fabrication.

Some of the possible reasons given at the time were that Shivambu may have been trying to get some sympathy in the wake of the VBS scandal, or to produce a cover story for why he no longer had his old laptops and phones – in the event the police swooped in and wanted the equipment as evidence in the VBS investigation.

The DA’s Phumzile Van Damme was one of the people who took to Twitter to express her scepticism.

Today she took to the platform once more to note that the Mail & Guardian’s story seemed to have confirmed her suspicions.

According to her: “Floyd has been caught in a big whopper!”

And, in another tweet, she mocked the EFF for apparently using white monopoly capital as a scapegoat after the inconsistencies in Shivambu’s story emerged.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.