Zuma’s top bodyguard caught up in kickback scandal – report

One of President Jacob Zuma’s top bodyguards and head of the presidential protection service (PPS) unit has allegedly received a cash payment of more than half a million rand from a supplier of blue lights to the unit to purchase a house in a plush Johannesburg golf estate.

News24 and Scorpio reported on Friday, Major-General Muzingaye Mxolisi Dladla and his former partner bought a house in the Blue Valley golf estate in Midrand, Gauteng, in 2012 following a contribution of R700 000 towards the purchase by the owner of Instrumentation for Traffic Law Enforcement (ITLE), Phineas Manthata.

According to the report, Manthata’s company is a major supplier of emergency lights and related products to numerous units and divisions of the SA Police Service (SAPS), including Dladla’s own unit.

Several sources familiar with the SAPS’ business dealings claimed that the PPS headed by Dladla was ITLE’s foremost client at one stage.

“The Presidential SAPS unit was ITLE’s bread and butter, the company practically specialised in selling blue lights to that unit,” one source alleged.

While another source alleged that ITLE fitted blue lights systems to about 35 motorcycles and 15 cars belonging to the PPS, but it remains unclear whether this project took place around the time of Dladla and his then partner’s purchase of the Blue Valley property.

“Dladla and his then partner, Mogotladi Mogano, an official in the Presidency, bought the house for R3.2 million in July 2012, according to deeds records. The couple secured a bank loan for R2.72 million, meaning they needed to provide a deposit of R480 000 in order for the transaction to go through.

“Dladla and Mogano would also have needed at least another R240 000 to cover the transfer fee and related costs, according to a leading estate agency’s online calculator for property transfers. In total, the couple would therefore have been short to the tune of around R720 000,” the report stated.

It was then that Manthata helped the couple by allegedly contributing an amount of R700 000 for the transaction to be successfully completed.

Manthata has denied any wrongdoing, speaking to News24 through his attorney, and declined to respond to further questions for comment. While the SAPS, Dladla and his former partner all failed to respond to queries around the property deal.

However, police spokesperson Major-General Sally de Beer confirmed that Manthata’s company was listed as a registered supplier to the SAPS since January 2005, but there was no current contract in place with the company.

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