Malema sponsored by “cigarette mafia” says Kenny

By Charl Bosch - Apr 7, 2015

The suspended Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Gauteng has reportedly accused party leader Julius Malema and Deputy President Floyd Shivambu of abusing party funds for their own use.

Addressing the media in Sandton, Wiekus Kotze, who was placed on suspension five months ago, claimed he was unfairly dismissed after questioning the party’s “financial practises”.

“In the two months I was in head office, I quickly realised that there was no proper financial system in place, nor was good practice followed,” Independent News quoted him as saying.

Kotze stated that his problems started when he was reportedly asked to make payments without filing invoices, claiming that Malema used party money to settle his fraud case with the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

In a series of tweets, the Daily Sun reported Kotze as claiming that the party submitted “cooked books” to Parliament, and that Malema and Shivambu had opened an off-shore accounts in which they channelled money into.

Also speaking at the meeting, former EFF members and controversial businessman, Kenny Kunene, claimed that Malema was “sponsored by illegal cigarette mafias” and that he once bragged about owing the media.

Kunene also stated that he would leave the country immediately if Malema were to become president, adding that a faction within the ruling ANC had promised the firebrand leader a top position if they don’t succeed in achieving a clear majority.

The EFF has meanwhile responded the claims on its official twitter page, stating that Kotze was never a CFO and that he “is on a logical destiny with Kunene”.

“#Kotze says CIC's tax is paid by EFF money, in the same presser, he says they are paid by cigaret smugglers; which case must we answer?” read one tweet with another claiming, “The #EFF does not rejoice in other peoples' weaknesses, that is why to this day there is no single public statement on #Kotze's fraud case”.

IMAGE sourced from kykNet YouTube page