ActionSA will lay criminal charges against Justice Minister Thembi Simelane following revelations that the agreement for the loan she received from a VBS fixer was allegedly backdated, reports News24.

‘New information suggesting the probable backdating of the loan agreement to potentially conceal the transaction warrants a criminal investigation and, as such, ActionSA will be filing criminal charges,’ reads a statement from ActionSA. 

ActionSA's Malebo Kobe and the party's Limpopo chairperson, Victor Mothemela, will file the charges against Simelane for allegedly violating the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

The DA, meanwhile, has reiterated its call for Simelane to step aside.

Other parties – like GOOD, the EFF, and BOSA – have also previously called on Simelane to step aside or be suspended.

A joint investigation by News24 and Daily Maverick revealed that Simelane had used a ‘commercial loan of R575 600 from Gundo Wealth Solutions, owned by Ralliom Razwinane, to buy a coffee shop in Sandton.

At the time, Simelane was the mayor of Polokwane, a municipality that unlawfully invested R349m in VBS, which was brokered by Gundo.

Forensic investigations found that VBS had paid a kickback, worth R24.2m, to Razwinane for brokering investments from various municipalities and state entities through allegedly corrupt transactions and breaches of the Municipal Finance Management Act. 

Razwinane is currently on trial for graft linked to VBS, notes the News24 report.

It was subsequently reported the loan to Simelane was the only one Gundo had provided in 2016, and VBS kickbacks were the only funds in the account from which the loan was paid.

According to Simelane, she repaid the loan and interest in three instalments of R283,333 on 9 October 2020, 12 November 2020 and 7 January 2021.

Yesterday, News24 and the DM reported that inconsistencies in Simelane's coffee shop ‘loan agreement’ with Gundo suggested the document was drafted after it was purportedly signed.

Several MPs want to see the loan agreement.  The committee is obtaining a legal opinion in this regard.

Meanwhile, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has dismissed claims that he is lobbying for Simelane to step aside, reports EWN. This surfaced during the ANC's National Working Committee meeting yesterday.

The ANC is yet to pronounce itself on the claims levelled against the Minister, including on the latest alleged inconsistencies in the loan agreement.

Simelane appeared before the party's Integrity Committee last week.

Simelane, who also appeared before Parliament, has consistently failed to produce a copy of the 2016 loan agreement with Gundo Wealth Solutions.

Full News24 report

Full EWN report