Justice Minister Thembi struck gold in 2018 when she spent 569% more than her known annual income as the mayor of Polokwane.

This was less than two years after she had taken a R575 600 ‘loan’ from VBS fixer Gundo Wealth Solutions to pay for a coffee shop in Sandton. 

News24 reports that the source of the funds Simelane splurged during 2018 remains opaque.

Between March 2018 and February 2019, she spent a conservatively estimated R2.89m. However, her post-tax annual income tallied about R509 220. Her expenses for the year included the cash purchase of a vacant stand in an upmarket, gated Pretoria neighbourhood, a Mercedes-Benz Viano, bought with cash, a family trip to Disney World, and luxury ‘shopping therapy’.

Simelane's spokesperson, Tsekiso Machike, said the News24 expose emanates from an ‘unauthorised lifestyle audit you purport to have conducted against her’.

‘The Minister will not be participating in anything or answering any questions that are a product of this campaign that your publications are running against her,’ Machike said.

In August 2021, Simelane became an MP, a position which requires her to make disclosures of assets, shares, directorships and gifts. She claimed to have 100 ‘Sasol Inzalo’ shares and declared her ‘residential’ property in Hazeldean, too.

The size of the property is an ‘estimated’ 200 square meters, Simelane said. 

News24 disputes this, noting that the property, according to CIPC documents, measures 1 955 square meters.

Full News24 report