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She must have thought I will succumb and cower to her tactics. She must have also thought she will pressure me into withdrawing criminal charges against her with the threat of this ill-fated, vexatious and frivolous court application. It didn't work. Her game plan fell flat. She must face her demons. - Mulaudzi

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Sizwe sama Yende

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Public Works and Infrastructure deputy minister, Bernice Swarts, has wimped out of her court application to muzzle a businessman whom she allegedly swindled of R530 000 in 2013.

Swarts had applied for an interdict against Tuwani Matthews Mulaudzi and Independent Media scheduled for Tuesday, April 16 2024, in the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court.

Amid her application, she had sent emissaries to Mulaudzi since Thursday last week to haggle for an out of court settlement. Before then, Swarts had tried to drive a narrative that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute – a claim the NPA flatly denied.

It appears that Swarts had eventually confessed that she took the money under false pretenses that it would be used to foot some of the ANC’s 2014 election campaign bills, but she used it for herself.

The negotiators told Mulaudzi that Swarts had undertaken to pay R700 000 by Friday morning and withdraw the court application. However, Friday came, and Mulaudzi was told that a benefactor had flown out of the country and would make the payment on his return on Monday.

They promised to give Mulaudzi a small portion of the money last week as assurance that they would pay the balance. That also did not happen.

Mulaudzi had offered to accept the R530 000 without interest and the negotiators promised him R700 000 instead of about R2 million if accumulated interest was considered.

Swarts lawyers from Mdluli Pearce Mdzikwa Attorneys said, in a correspondence to the court: “Be pleased to take notice that the above matter has been set down for hearing on Tuesday the 16^th of April 2024 in the same honourable court.”

The lawyers had not answered a question seeking reasons for their withdrawal by the time this story was published.

Mulaudzi said that Swarts’ game plan fell flat. “She must have thought I will succumb and cower to her tactics. She must have also thought she will pressure me into withdrawing criminal charges against her with the threat of this ill-fated, vexatious and frivolous court application. It didn't work. Her game plan fell flat. She must face her demons,” Mulaudzi said.

“Muzzling media freedom is also not an option in our Constitutional democracy. Our politicians must learn to be accountable, and stop with their arrogance and thinking they are above the law,” he added.

The saga began in 2013 when Swarts and former Gauteng Film Commission, Andile Mbeki, approached Mulaudzi at Waterkloof, Pretoria, to donate money to the party.

Mulaudzi said that Swarts gave him a bank account number on a paper that had the ANC’s letterheads so he did not notice that the ABSA account belonged to Swarts.  

He realised later that the money had not reached the party and laid a fraud charge at Sunnyside Police Station. After police had received some information including Swarts’ bank statements, Mulaudzi saw the money he deposited in Swarts’ account and how it was used.

The docket was however lost twice. Swarts and Mbeki disappeared without trace. It was only in 2018 that Mulaudzi revived the matter when he saw Swarts on TV being sworn in as Member of Parliament.

Mulaudzi reported the matter to ANC chief whip, Pemmy Majodina, who did her own investigation and proved that indeed Mulaudzi paid the money. Majodina promised Mulaudzi that she would report the matter to the ANC’s officials, and she tried setting up a meeting between Swarts and Mulaudzi in 2018, Swarts did not pitch up.

Mulaudzi also reported to former Speaker of parliament, Thandi Modise, the Integrity Commission and Luthuli House but no positive response came.

Swarts was largely unknown until questions were raised about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s CR17 campaign. Former Public Protector Busi Mkhwebane launched an investigation on the CR17 funding when it came out that the late Bosasa (now known as African Global Operations) chief executive officer, Gavin Watson, donated R500 000.

Swarts, according to information that became publicly known about the CR17 campaign, allegedly received R16 million from an account linked to the campaign to mobilise support in Mpumalanga province.