Juju goes to ground as pressure mounts

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema has gone underground as pressure continued to mount about how he funds his lavish lifestyle.

The DA yesterday wrote to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela asking her to investigate Malema, and AfriForum has opened a criminal case against him.

A youth league media briefing at ANC headquarters, Luthuli House, billed as an attempt to "clear the air", turned into a damp squib when the league's leadership failed to reveal anything about Malema's Ratanang Family Trust, which he has been accused of using to receive cash from businesses that benefit from government tenders.

Instead of responding to questions, the youth league's deputy president, Ronald Lamola, and secretary-general, Sindiso Magaqa, attacked the media, accusing it of trying to divert attention from the league's calls for the nationalisation of mines and the expropriation of land without compensation.

Magaqa denied that the trust, registered by Malema in 2008, was a "secret" fund. He said it had been used openly as a vehicle for donating money to charitable and other organisations.

"If there is any wrongdoing on the part of the trust, the ANC Youth League president is open and ready for investigations by SARS and any other law-enforcement agency.

"If there are citizens who believe that there is wrongdoing, they should report such to the agencies and not to newspapers," he said.

Magaqa refused to say why Malema was not present to clear his name, saying only that the youth league president's whereabouts were "none of your business".

"Why are you concerned why the president is not here? That is none of your business," he said.

Though he listed a number of charitable "causes" to which the trust had donated money, Magaqa refused to answer questions relating to cash flows into the trust.

A City Press exposé on Sunday quoted an unnamed Limpopo businessman who claimed to have deposited R200000 into the trust's account. He alleged that people who wanted to buy Malema's influence to win tenders in Limpopo had deposited money into the trust's account.

Magaqa yesterday denied the claim and said the businessman should report Malema to the police and produce deposit slips as proof of his allegations.

"When people [the media] come here, they must not come here with sponsored views ... The money that is there is for the trust; it is not for the exchange of tenders," he said.

DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard said the tide was turning against Malema.

"The tide of allegations against Mr Malema relating to financial impropriety, fraud and corruption has been steadily rising. Thus far, he has failed to provide a satisfactory explanation to any of the questions put to him."

Last week, Malema said at a press conference that his personal finances and businesses were not subject to public scrutiny because he was a "private citizen".

This followed reports - all denied by Malema - that he had demolished a R3.6-million home in Sandown, Sandton, to make way for a R16-million mansion, complete with a bunker.

On Saturday he failed in his urgent application for a high court interdict that would have prevented City Press from publishing the allegations about his trust.

Trade union federation and ANC alliance partner Cosatu has called for an investigation into Malema's finances by the police, the Special Investigating Unit and the ANC's ethics committee.

Philip Dexter, a spokesman for COPE, called on Malema to disclose the sources of his funding.

"His defensive response, that it is none of our business, will not wash. The public must lobby for the right to know," he said.

The Public Protector's office said it had not received a complaint relating to Malema by close of business yesterday.