NATIONAL NEWS - During a press conference at EFF headquarters on Tuesday, EFF leader Julius Malema hit out at the collapse of VBS Mutual Bank but said the EFF was not mentioned in the Reserve Bank’s report on the money lost, and nor was its deputy president, Floyd Shivambu.
He said: “We have full confidence in our deputy president, Floyd Shivambu. We remain united and unshaken by any and all attempts to slow down or discredit the EFF.”
He said Shivambu had taken the EFF leadership into his confidence in relation to VBS media claims “and we have no reason to doubt him, more so because he is not mentioned in the official Motau VBS report”.
He said they rejected the “witch-hunt and mob justice” that sought to declare people guilty through courts of public opinion.
“The law must take its course and all who are implicated must fully cooperate with law enforcement institutions.”
He said he noted that “several persons mentioned in the report” were challenging the validity and lawfulness of the report on the basis that its chief investigator and author, advocate Terry Motau, had not afforded them the right to “put their side of the story”.
“The enemies of our revolution who wish to see the EFF, which is the only voice of the poor silenced, are seeking to bring both our deputy president and the organisation through a back door into the VBS saga.”
Over the weekend, Shivambu responded to accusations that he had received R10 million from VBS Bank through his brother, who was named in the report.
In a statement, he categorically denied he received the R10 million, saying that he had no dealings with VBS and any attempts to link him and the EFF with the bank were disingenuous.
“For the record, I have never received R10 million from VBS or anyone in my personal account,” the statement read. “Faceless sources reportedly to be from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), who have ulterior motives, have been misleading journalists and radio presenters with their malicious narrative.
“I have no dealings with VBS and any attempt to link the EFF to the bank for cheap political points is a clear sign of desperation and soon enough people will see through it. The so-called well-placed source in the SARB is a coward and a liar who misled journalists and can’t even reveal their identity,” the statement read. “I have no dealings with VBS.”
Shivambu faced calls to respond to calls he address allegations made against him since Wednesday, when a report commissioned by Treasury called The Great Bank Heist was released.
Looking into the alleged looting of VBS Bank and compiled by advocate Motau and assisted by Werksmans Attorneys, the report implicated Brian Shivambu as one of the more than 50 people who “gratuitously” received money from VBS Bank.
