Illustrative image | Sources: VBS Mutual Bank customers in long queues outside the bank. (Photo: Antonio Muchave / Sowetan) | SA banknotes. (Photo: Nadine Hutton / Bloomberg via Getty Images) | Justice Minister Thembi Simelane. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sharon Seretlo) 
On Monday, Daily Maverick and News 24 revealed that Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Thembi Simelane had been given more than half a million rand by an organisation that brokered deals with VBS that led to its collapse.
She has said that the money was a loan and that she has paid the money back, but as yet, has provided no proof of this.
Even if this is the case, it would mean that she had been borrowing money from a company brokering deals that broke VBS while being the Mayor of Polokwane, while it deposited money with VBS.
No matter what happens next in this case, her judgement will be rightfully questioned – with every sentence screaming “conflict of interest”.
And, until she provides proof that she has repaid the money, it will look like she was bribed to ensure that Polokwane’s money was placed with VBS (unlike some other councils, and many depositors, Polokwane did get its money back).
This is mainly because of the context in which the VBS scandal occurred. As has been found by the SA Reserve Bank, this scandal was all about politics, political influence, and money.
With literally hundreds of crimes being committed, it will be very difficult for anyone whose name is mentioned in the VBS scandal’s space-time continuum, and particularly for someone who actually received money, to claim that they had nothing to do with it.
Political head of the justice system
To increase the pressure on Simelane, it is not just that she is an ordinary member of Cabinet. She is the minister of justice, the political head of the justice system.
This means that she has the legal power to appoint acting judges, to manage the administration of the courts and control the NPA’s budget.
In the past, a justice minister in the form of Brigitte Mabandla tried to order a National Director of Public Prosecutions, in the form of Vusi Pikoli, to not arrest the National Police Commissioner at the time, Jackie Selebi. Pikoli refused to accept the order, leading to a stand-off that ended in then President Thabo Mbeki suspending Pikoli.
While that kind of situation may appear unlikely in our current political context, it is a demonstration of the power and the role a justice minister can play that is particularly problematic.
Mabandla is not the only justice minister to have made decisions for political reasons. Jeff Radebe also failed to notify the then president Jacob Zuma that Menzi Simelane had been found to have “prima facie” lied under oath during the Ginwala Inquiry into Pikoli’s fitness to hold office.
As a result of this particularly egregious decision, Simelane’s appointment as head of the NPA was eventually struck down by the Constitutional Court.
While the previous justice minister Ronald Lamola (now at Dirco) did not have any major scandals while in office, it did emerge that his law firm failed to properly interrogate documents presented during an inquiry into the National Lottery Commission.
Read more: Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola’s law firm bungled National Lottery corruption probe, three times
Any decision now taken by Thembi Simelane will be interrogated, with a suspected ulterior motive.
For example, Simelane leads the department which has been accused of making it harder for the NPA to access the database of the Zondo Commission.
This revelation might strengthen the hand of those who believe she has an improper motive for this.
Ramaphosa’s ANC ‘renewal’
The situation around the current justice minister is placing President Cyril Ramaphosa in a difficult position.
He has stated, time after time, that the ANC is on the path to “renewal”. But he also won re-election as leader of the ANC with the strong support of the ANC in Limpopo, where most of the VBS scandal took place.
Currently, the deputy chair of the ANC in that province is Florence Radzilani, who was herself accused of taking payments to ensure her council deposited money with VBS.
This may mean that he, or those around him, feel that it would be difficult to act against Simelane. After all, she has just been appointed, and he could argue that all of the facts of the matter have not yet emerged.
However, the ANC itself may not have the luxury of failing to act.
While it lost a huge amount of support in the national elections, the fact is that local elections are coming soon. And it is very likely that the party will lose even more support then.
Read more: Come the 2026 local government elections, the ANC slide is likely to continue
This situation may also lead to an interesting demonstration of the new lines of influence in our government.
The DA, currently the second-biggest partner in the coalition, has already issued a statement on Simelane. Its justice spokesperson, Glynnis Breytenbach, has said that these allegations “raise serious questions about the Minister’s integrity”. She says Simelane must be brought before Parliament to answer questions about her involvement.
If Ramaphosa and those around him allow this to happen, it would mean that one of their party members has to face a barrage of humiliating questions in Parliament. If they attempt to protect her, the DA’s questions will test the coalition.
The DA too has to consider how far to push this issue. If it is seen to be putting too much pressure on Ramaphosa and Simelane, that will help those in the ANC who oppose the coalition with the DA.
If it is seen not to push hard enough, its own constituency might believe it is protecting its own position in government.
This also provides a test for the EFF and MK. Any comment either party makes on the subject will be interrogated quite carefully.
While both parties have claimed they will play the role of opposition to the coalition government, there is a wealth of evidence that both EFF leader Julius Malema and MK National Organiser Floyd Shivambu received money from VBS.
This latest revelation is yet another example of the VBS scandal’s continuous capacity to surprise. There may well be other politicians in high office who could somehow be implicated.
One thing appears certain – there will be more shocks and surprises to come and the Hawks and other agencies cannot afford to be seen as inert – or too slow.
They must conduct proper investigations and bring those implicated to justice. DM