The shrewd Mpumalanga politician had in the past weathered storms.
Badplaas businessman Fred Daniel has made an about-turn, now believing an affidavit written by a ‘Thandeka Mabuza’ was a plot by the country’s deputy president to ‘discredit’ him.
Daniel, who was labelled as dishonest by the Carolina Magistrates Court in August 2018 during his bid to obtain a protection order against DD Mabuza, tried to reach out to the Tshwane high court in November 2018 to apply for another protection order after an ‘affidavit’ surfaced that Mabuza had allegedly hired ‘hitmen’ to gun him down.
Mabuza is not new to bizarre claims involving affidavits – which portray him as a ruthless murderer.
The latest affidavit is dated 8 November 2018 and is written by a bogus ‘Thandeka Mabuza’ who claims is the deputy president’s niece and lives with him in his Johannesburg house.
The ’32-year-old Thandeka’, who has now been exposed as 31-year-old Nomfundo Sambo and who once worked as an admin clerk at the Mpunzana Primary School in Shabalala Trust near Hazyview, is now facing an investigation by the Hawks over the affidavit she wrote.
In the affidavit, which prompted Daniel to approach the Tshwane high court to apply for yet another protection order as well as laying a criminal charge against Mabuza with cops, the Thandeka claimed that she bumped into Mabuza’s diary while she was cleaning his study room and the diary was stating that Daniel was going to be killed on 7 November 2018 by Mabuza’s hired men.
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The Thandeka went to the DA offices in Mbombela a day after writing the affidavit to tell the opposition party about the issue of Mabuza allegedly planning to kill Daniel and is also seen in CCTV cameras. But the person seen on the CCTV has now been exposed as Nomfundo Sambo.
At the time Daniel said: “We’re taking this matter very seriously. I’m happy that the court has accepted the urgency of the matter. Had Thandeka not warned me, I don’t know what would have happened”.
But then it soon came to light that Mabuza was in Russia and not in Johannesburg as the Thandeka claimed.
Daniel then said: “Unbeknown to my advisers and me, the conspiracy to kill me was actually a conspiracy to discredit me as a whistle-blower by having me arrested and charged with treason for fabricating evidence that the deputy president has put me on on his much-feared hit list and intended to have me killed.
“Unfortunately for the conspirators, the conspiracy unravelled when Thandeka’s real identity as Sambo became known,” he said.
On 27 August 2018, the Carolina Magistrates Court labelled Daniel as a very dishonest person after he failed to provide the proper evidence why he wanted to be granted a protection order against Mabuza.
Daniel had approached the court in February 2018 to apply for a temporary protection order against Mabuza, accusing him of using his position to harass and sabotage his Badplaas business. He also accused Mabuza of supporting land claimants to this tourist area and is suing Mabuza R1,2bn for profits lost while being harassed and sabotaged by Mabuza while he was Premier, including allegedly withholding permits for him to run the game reserve business and had wanted this order to be made permanent.
Magistrate Sarel Grabe in August 2018 said Daniel was manufacturing the allegations against Mabuza and dismissed his application
But Daniel’s lawyer Jacques Joubert is appealing Grabe’s judgement and the failed Thandeka affidavit was going to add points to his appeal.
(edited by ZK)
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