Statement by Deputy President Mashatile on false investigation claims in News24 and "X"

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has become aware of the existence and propagation of a post on the social media platform “X” (formerly known as Twitter), by the now notorious account, GoolamMV, which distinguishes itself by launching unverified information and often propaganda-laden attacks on the supposed political rivals of its handlers. 

The post in question is a collection of fabrications, exaggerations, innuendo, and outright lies. It is yet another instalment in the now evident agenda being pursued by some in public life to tarnish the Deputy President’s image and destroy his reputation for purely political motives.

That agenda has, since the Deputy President arrived at the Union Buildings, been driven primarily by some parties and their proxies in the media group, News24. It appears the cudgels of this campaign have now been taken up by the GoolamMV account as well, among other political opportunists who are committed to fuel instability within the ANC.

Most alarming are the desperate attempts of these nefarious actors to draw in state institutions into the ambit of their political campaign, they pretend to be the mouthpiece of State investigative institutions. They persistently insinuate on a matter beyond their reach, assuming that the public is gullible and will embrace their lies. 

Among the falsehoods propagated by the GoolamMV account on Wednesday is the claim: “Paul Mashatile is now being investigated by the SIU, the Hawks, and the Public Protector…” This assertion has no believable basis. In his state of desperation, GoolamMV and his handlers are picking up the pass from a story published by News24 on Wednesday, 9 October 2024, which had no information to share but seemed to be calculated to keep the invented narrative of the Deputy President’s “lavish lifestyle” in the public domain, for the express purpose of having the GoolamMV account pick it up and spread the lies on social media. 

The post on X, the News24 stories and the alleged claims about state “investigations of Mashatile”, and the wholly spurious police ‘complaints’ by two opposition parties are all just part of a concerted ‘pressure campaign’ against the Deputy President.

We view these allegations for what they are: an attempt to tarnish the standing of the Deputy President in the eyes of society.

For the record, here is the list of falsehoods claimed by News24 and GoolamMV with regard to the Deputy President: 

FALSE CLAIM 1: The Deputy President bought a house for R28m cash in Cape Town in December 2023.

Deputy President Mashatile owns no properties in Cape Town or anywhere else, other than the house he and his late wife bought through a bank loan in the Johannesburg suburb of Kelvin.
 
FALSE CLAIM 2: The Deputy President owns another property in Waterfall Estate, Johannesburg, also “bought for R37m cash through his sons who deal in tenders with departments in which he [was] the MEC.”

The Deputy President has openly stated in public that he resides in a Waterfall property purchased jointly by his sons and his son in law, Mr Nceba Nonkwelo, again through normal bank loans, as a family property. He moved into the property because of its better security profile compared to his own house in Kelvin, and does not own the property himself. 

FALSE CLAIM 3: The Deputy President’s sons, Thabiso Mashatile and Tinyiko Mvelase, have secured tenders from government departments overseen by their father during his time in the Gauteng government.

No provincial or national government department that the Deputy President has overseen has ever awarded, been accused of, or investigated for granting tenders or work to any companies with links of any kind to members of his family. A complaint to the Office of the Public Protector with regards to a tender issued by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (a government entity the Deputy President has never had anything to do with) to a company in which Thabiso and Tinyiko were directors in 2022 (when the Deputy President was serving full time in the African National Congress and had no government role of any kind). 

FALSE CLAIM 4: The Hawks are “investigating the source of funds” used by Nceba Nonkwelo to purchase his property in Constantia, Cape Town. 

The Deputy President’s son-in-law, Nceba Nonkwelo, is a businessperson who comes from an established entrepreneurial family, which owns and operates its own independent enterprises. Nonkwelo’s primary business interests have never been in government tenders. The only exception to this was a 2013 loan granted to his company by the Gauteng Partnership Fund, which was subject to an independent investigation by the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements last year. 

The loan to Nonkwelo’s company, and the project to which it related, dates back to a time when the Deputy President was not in Gauteng and was serving as Minister for Arts and Culture in the national government. There has never been any allegation or suggestion that he was linked in any way to Nonkwelo’s dealings with the GPF, despite News24’s strenuous and unsuccessful attempts to draw a non-existent link.

CONCLUSION

It hardly needs stating that Deputy President Mashatile rejects all of these false claims. What is most disturbing, however, is the willingness of his self-appointed detractors to wantonly use ostensibly independent state law-enforcement institutions as grist to mill of their political campaign. The Deputy President wants to restate his confidence in the role and purpose of the state security and law enforcement authorities.

Media enquiries: Mr Keith Khoza, Acting Spokesperson to the Deputy President on 066 195 8840.

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria