ANC presidential campaign debt haunts Lindiwe Sisulu

21 April 2019 - 09:44
By AUBREY MOTHOMBENI

The minister of international relations and cooperation Lindiwe Sisulu has been dragged into a bitter legal battle involving her nephew Moyikwa Sisulu over a R1.2m debt for her botched ANC presidential campaign in 2017.

This comes after nonprofit organisation Tirisanommogo filed an application for provisional liquidation against a company called M Sisulu Management, owned by Moyikwa Sisulu, arguing that he did not pay them for services rendered for his aunt's campaign. 

Sisulu collapsed her presidential campaign a few months before the ANC elective conference and joined Cyril Ramaphosa's camp as his deputy.

However, she was beaten to the post by former Mpumalanga ANC chairperson and current deputy president David Mabuza.

Tirisanommogo, an events organising company, revealed further details about Sisulu's campaign, including the cash flow challenges they experienced in their court papers.

According to an affidavit filed by the NPO's chairperson and businesswoman Motshidisi Gaosekwe, they entered into an agreement with Moyikwa in 2017 to help promote and garner support for Sisulu's presidential campaign.

"The respondent approached the applicant and requested it to assist with organising and or launching of a campaign. The applicant accepted the project and opened a credit facility for the respondent in terms of an advance for expenses to be incurred in order to successfully launch the aforesaid campaign..." reads Gaosekwe's affidavit.

The papers further indicate that the minister's campaign relied heavily on the advance payments by Tirisanommogo.

The NPO revealed it made numerous payments, some of which according to the list of expenses annexed to the application show they were made towards volunteers' stipends, transport, catering, accommodation, airtime, fuel and mobilisation.

The papers show that the campaign invested heavily in the Western Cape and an amount of R563,086,32 was spent and the least invested province was the Eastern Cape, with only R5,700 spent.

Gaosekwe revealed that following Moyikwa's failure to settle the debt, the NPO's lawyers sent him a letter of demand to no avail.

Motivating for the provisional liquidation, she said Sisulu's nephew ignored the letters of demand, including several communications asking about payments.

The application was removed from the roll without an order being granted.

Moyikwa Sisulu sang a different tune this week when contacted about the application. He said the issue was now settled, arguing that he did not understand why his aunt was now being brought into the matter.

"The issue of Tirisanommogo is [closed] from our side, and we have come to an arrangement which I can't tell you about."

He confirmed the NPO was owed money, but the debt was now partly paid and they also entered into a settlement agreement about the balance.

Moyikwa added Tirisanommogo helped to run his aunt's clean campaign and it was not a war room.

Meanwhile, commenting on behalf of Tirisanommogo, Tendani Madilonga said: "The matter has been resolved between [the] two parties, therefore no comment."