'I want my cash,' Lotto winner tells Mashaba jnr

Lotto winner David Mokoatsi claims he made a "deal with the devil" when he loaned his fellow churchgoer R4.6-million in a deal that has landed up in court.

Mokoatsi, whose lottery ticket won him R23-million in 2015, says he is now broke after businessman Jabu Mashaba, the son of former Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba, reneged on a repayment plan. He says he spent the rest of his winnings on properties, cars and donations to his church.

"I thought I was helping my brother in Christ, I didn't know I was getting myself into a lion's den," Mokoatsi said this week. "I trusted him, we are both Christian and attend the same church."

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In papers filed in the High Court in Johannesburg, Mokoatsi, 48, claims Mashaba only repaid R880,000 of the R4.6-million loan, which was made in 2015 and was due to be repaid in instalments over 25 months. After Mashaba ignored a letter of demand, Mokoatsi cancelled the loan agreement and demanded the outstanding balance.

Mashaba, 36, does not deny in his responding affidavit taking out the loan, but says it is premature for Mokoatsi to institute legal action because he believes he has not defaulted on their agreement.

He said the court should dismiss the application because Mokoatsi was not a registered credit provider and was not permitted to offer loans exceeding R1.5-million. For this reason, "the loan would be unlawful and void", he claimed .

Mashaba also said Mokoatsi had not explained how he determined that R3.6-million was the outstanding amount and that he could therefore not respond to the application properly.

"The applicant is obliged to plead how he calculated the sum claimed and his failure to do so renders the particular of claim excipiable [not allowable], alternatively, constitutes non-compliance with the rules of the court. On this basis alone, the application for summary judgment ought to be dismissed, with costs."

Mashaba did not answer calls this week. His lawyer promised to respond in writing, but had not done so by the time of going to press.

Speaking to the Sunday Times from his home in Witbank, Mokoatsi, who quit his job as spokesman for the Mantsopa Municipality in the Free State after winning his fortune, said: "I didn't know I was getting myself into a devil's den."

He said he knew Mashaba from church but they were not close. He learnt about Mashaba's money problems when a church official introduced them to each other and Mokoatsi asked if he could help.

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"Mashaba [told me] he wanted to buy out his business partner from a Pick n Pay franchise they owned in Springs. He said the relationship ... had deteriorated and he [Mashaba] didn't want to lose the business as it was very lucrative.

"As part of our deal, he guaranteed me 35% of his shares in case he failed to pay me back. Even when our lawyers drafted the agreement he was happy with the deal. I do not understand why he treats me like this."

Mmatsatsi Sefalafala, Mokoatsi's lawyer, said Mashaba had "frustrated" the legal process since February and they were still waiting for his legal team to give reasons why they were defending the claim lodged by Mokoatsi in the high court.

"We are in a process of filing another application interdicting Mashaba from selling his share of a Pick n Pay franchise," Sefalafala said.

Mokoatsi said he was waiting for a mining permit. Should his mining application be approved, he would need at least R1.6-million to start the operation.

"I do not have a cent, I need my money. I cancelled a franchise deal [for] which I paid a non-refundable R75,000 to accommodate this guy's needs, now he does this to me."