[imagesource: Mlungisi Louw]

Come now, you already knew that Julius Malema and his red beret-wearing cronies were crooks.

Unless you’re an EFF supporter with your head buried up to your neck in the sand, the VBS Bank looting is all the proof you need.

It is one of this country’s greatest ever bank heists, and it’s not only Malema that lived the high life off the back of the life savings of others.

We have the Daily Maverick to thank for exposing the EFF’s plundering (they also exposed the EFF’s hypocrisy with their Camps Bay villa trash-combing), and in particular, Pauli van Wyk.

Despite being under sustained attack from Malema and his supporters (you may recall that Malema once called her ‘Satan’), she has refused to back down, and now she’s connected further dots that illustrate just how morally bankrupt his behaviour has been.

To start, here are a few kickers from the latest Daily Maverick deep dive:

Scorpio’s investigation into the bank statements of VBS-beneficiary and slush fund Mahuna Investments show how the life savings of the poor and vulnerable VBS-depositors, as well as municipalities around the country, were transformed into school-related expenses for Malema’s sons, and were used to pay for Gucci, Louis Vuitton and tailored suits…

When you crunch the numbers, it’s actually sickening:

In July 2018, hundreds of panicked people queued for days at the headquarters of VBS Mutual Bank in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, in an attempt to extract their money from the failed bank. For some, the flames of panic were fuelled by the knowledge that their entire life’s savings were deposited at VBS.

Meanwhile, during the same month in 2018, Julius Malema utilised beneficiary of VBS-loot Mahuna Investments’ bank card to spend R900,000 on Gucci and Le Coq Sportif in Sandton City (R27,094), the Durban July (R30,860) [pictured below is Julius and wife, Mantwa Matlala, at the 2017 Durban July, the Hampshire Hotel in Ballito (R11,560), the Polokwane party venue Mekete Lodge (R416,900), and the Nando’s in Vryburg (R149).

If one VBS depositor managed to save R2,000 per month, it would have taken them more than one year to fund Malema’s Gucci and Le Coq Sportif expenses at Sandton City in just July 2018.

A year’s savings, and for some their life savings, wiped out with a few swipes of Malema’s card.

Those looking closely at the spending tried to get video footage from these respective outlets, but that proved difficult. Still, some of those who work there were willing to talk:

Some of the shops delete their video footage every few months, and some cited legal considerations or fear for getting trashed as a reason for not sharing their footage with Daily Maverick. A close associate of a high-end shop confirmed that Malema is a “well-known” customer who has his “own shop assistant”. A second source in a managerial position confirmed the first assertion, adding that “… Julius visits the shop when it is quiet, and asks for unbranded bags before he leaves”.

That’s the thing – he knows what he’s doing is completely at odds with singing about being a voice for the poor, and hating on the evils of White Monopoly Capital, so he slinks in when the shop is quiet and leaves with unbranded bags.

For those counting every penny, here’s the full shopping list:

Wow, he even shopped at Woolies, referred to by some as the mecca of white privilege.

The rest of the article is an elaborate and in-depth game of ‘follow the money’, complete with receipts and damning evidence.

You can read it in full here.

Also published earlier this morning was another Daily Maverick probe into VBS Bank, titled “The VBS aftermath: ‘If we speak, they will kill us’”.

The story details the heartbreaking stories of those who lost their money, and the culture of silence that still exists around those responsible:

Very few people have been held accountable for the fraudulent activities at the bank. This upsets [Khathu Mushwana*, a 54- year-old hawker – not her real name] even more:

“We see them every day, driving around here in their fancy cars, and they have their big houses – they should sell their cars and houses so we can get our money back.”

Despite the fact that the culprits are known to the community, everybody knows that VBS is not something you talk about.

“If you say anything, they will kill you,” Mushwana says softly.

Many other victims, however, are already dead.

“They died from stress and heartbreak,” Mushwana says. This year one of her close friends, whom she worked with at the market, died after failing to cope with the loss of her funds.

“Another lady I know lost R700,000,” she says. She refuses to divulge any other details, fearing the information will put her and her colleagues at risk. “If they find out that we are talking they will kill us,” she repeats.

“We see people [whistle-blowers] dying every day on the news.”

…Nobody will say who “they” are. But it is clear these anonymous figures wield a lot of power, enough to shut down the talk of an entire town. There are very few people who are willing to speak about the matter. Despite the fact that people like Mushwana lost their entire livelihoods, there is no room for them to share their pain or experiences.

Instead, the entire town has been switched to mute. Even the victims of the VBS scandal, who have done no wrong, have to keep their heads down, lest they too lose their lives. They are forced to carry on as though nothing happened, without any solid hope of ever getting their money back.

All the while, Malema and his EFF cohorts live the life of luxury, and the people they purport to represent remain voiceless.

Malema has yet to start his latest round of attacks against Pauli van Wyk and the Daily Maverick, but you know it’s coming, and many EFF supporters are already doing his legwork on Twitter.

Another day in the life of a South African politician.

[sources:dailymaverick&dailymaverick]