South African president Cyril Ramaphosa's spokesperson says a video showing him outside the Sandton home of Hangwani Maumela - a central figure in a massive corruption scandal involving the looting of over R2 billion from Tembisa Hospital - is purely coincidental.
Ramaphosa has denied ever meeting Maumela, who was related to him through a previous marriage.
Last week, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) raided Maumela's home as part of an operation to seize assets linked to the alleged Tembisa Hospital looting.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
A recent SIU report found that Maumela led one of three major syndicates that diverted public funds meant for healthcare services through a complex web of fraudulent tenders, inflated prices and non-existent deliveries.
Among the items confiscated were three Lamborghinis, designer furniture, expensive artwork, and other property. The total value of assets preserved was R133.5 million, with a total of R900 million worth of assets targeted.
The SIU's investigation found that Maumela allegedly used a network of 41 companies to siphon off R820 million from Tembisa Hospital over two years.
The broader investigation uncovered that three syndicates were responsible for looting over R2 billion.
A day after the raid, a video of Ramaphosa outside Maumela's house was circulated on social media.
Ramaphosa spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says the video shows Ramaphosa in the middle of radio DJ Tbo Touch (Thabo Molefe) and deputy minister of employment and labour Jomo Sibiya, who at the time was the special adviser to the president.
"As it is well known, president Ramaphosa loves to walk whenever he finds time. He had invited Mr Sibiya for a walk. He regularly invites his staff, even ministers, on walks. They passed a house which is now well known as Maumela's house.
"While passing this house, they were stopped by Tbo Touch, who was in the company of his mentor and friend, bishop Noel Jones. They took pictures, and there's even a video. During the walk, the president stopped and spoke to several people along the way, including taking pictures with them," says Magwenya, who adds that Ramaphosa did not know that the house belonged to Maumela.
"The president regularly walks and drives past the house because this is the street that is not too far from his house in Hyde Park. It's a street that he would use when driving to and from Sandton. I also use the same street quite often when going to the president's house, coming from the Sandton direction."
Magwenya says it was wrong to use the video 'as evidence of the president's relationship with Maumela, adding that Ramaphosa maintains that he has no personal relationship with Maumela.
"He is not related to him except that he was once married to Maumela's aunt."
Magwenya also says before Ramaphosa was appointed as deputy president (in 2014), he gathered his immediate family and sternly instructed them to either exit or stop any business that they did or intended to do with the government and state institutions.
He says Maumela was not part of that meeting because he is not an immediate family member.
On Sunday, the entrance to Maumela's luxury house in Sandhurst in Sandton was guarded by muscular security guards, wearing black shirts and jeans, who asked anyone getting too close to the entrance to leave 'or be assisted to leave'.
They also insisted that no pictures be taken of the property.
An official says Maumela has not been at home since the SIU raid on Thursday.
Maumela lives a lavish lifestyle among wealthy neighbours in the elite Sandton and Hyde Park suburbs.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The property, reportedly purchased by his family trust, was created by combining two plots of land with a total value of R86 million.
Public records show that the MHR Maumela Family Trust purchased two adjacent stands in Sandhurst, one for R70 million in 2021 and another for R16 million in 2022.
It is described as a three-story mansion with features such as multiple wings, infinity pools and manicured gardens. Other amenities include a car wash and a hair salon.
The mansion is secured with a perimeter wall that deters unwanted access and is further enhanced with CCTV cameras and LED lights.
The streets are quiet and people who appeared were either walking or jogging with their pets.
A group of employees who work as gardeners in the suburb said many politicians, including EFF leader Julius Malema, live in the area. The group also described the area as quiet and crime-free. - IOL News
