The secret meeting between Johann Rupert and EFF’s Floyd Shivambu

EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu cultivated a relationship with Johann Rupert during the ANC presidential contest in 2017. Rupert reportedly used Shivambu as a valuable source of information about political developments. 

This was done at a time when EFF leader Julius Malema was publicly claiming that Rupert was head of the so-called Stellenbosch Mafia secretly running the country. 

Malema and Shivambu have been making headlines recently for their involvement in the VBS scandal and their opposition to the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Shivambu said the EFF was against the GNU as they did not want ‘representatives of the white apartheid system’.

They are known for their anti-white rhetoric and attacks on rich South African families, including the Ruperts and Oppenheimers.

This rhetoric gains them votes among many poorer and radical parts of the population who feel marginalised. The EFF portrays itself as a pro-poor party.

However, the EFF’s leaders have a liking for the high life, including designer clothes, expensive watches, and mixing with the rich and powerful. It has come back to bite him.

Shivambu, Malema, and the EFF are linked to the looting of VBS Mutual Bank in which many poor people lost their money.

Last week, Daily Maverick published an affidavit written by former VBS chairman Tshifhiwa Matodzi, which documented how he paid money to the EFF’s top brass. 

Matodzi said he requested a meeting with the leadership of the EFF due to their attacks on his bank following its loan to former president Jacob Zuma. It was intended to repay the debt from the Nkandla scandal.

Matodzi said during that meeting he agreed to make payments to the EFF’s leadership. He instructed them to open an account at VBS, promising an immediate “donation” of R5 million, followed by regular monthly payments of R1 million.

Malema and Shivambu decided to have some of the money paid into an account controlled by Brian Shivambu, Floyd’s brother. 

Years later, Brian Shivambu admitted that he had received the money for no good reason and repaid it.

Floyd has always denied receiving money from VBS. “For the record, I have never received R10 million from VBS or anyone in my personal account.,” he said.  

“I have no dealing with VBS, and any attempt to link the EFF to the bank for cheap political points is a clear sign of desperation, and soon enough people will see through it.”

“I have no dealings with VBS, and attempts to link the EFF position to business dealings are disingenuous and patently weak.”

This is the latest in a long line of Shivambu’s dealings with the rich and powerful. His relationship with Rupert dates back to the mid-2010s.

Shivambu meets Rupert

Pieter du Toit’s The Stellenbosch Mafia details the extensive communication between Rupert and Shivambu, which peaked during the 2017 ANC presidential election.

“Shivambu was one of Rupert’s go-to men in his informal intelligence network, sometimes explaining the inner workings of the governing party’s processes and procedures,” Du Toit said. 

Shivambu would often give Rupert a heads-up before major party developments, which helped him keep track of political developments.

Before the votes were cast, he even told Rupert that Ramaphosa would defeat Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and win the party’s presidency. 

Shivambu was evidently a trusted source for Rupert, as he suggested the billionaire give a public interview and set the record straight regarding the allegations of white monopoly capital running South African politics. 

“Believe it if you will,” Du Toit quoted Rupert as saying. “Floyd Shivambu advised me to do the PowerFM interview.” 

“Once he got to know me, he realised what I was actually doing, that I was opposed to apartheid, and who I knew during the struggle,” Rupert said.

Shivambu told Rupert that nobody knew this. “You’ve got to go on Given Mkhari’s show and do the Chairman’s Conversation with Mkhari,” he said.

Shivambu also asked Rupert for help with a personal project he was planning, indicating that he trusted South Africa’s richest man. 

The EFF deputy repeatedly expressed his concern that the public and political image created by the Remgro chairperson was unfair and harsh, saying that by engaging Mkhari, Rupert could change that narrative. 

Before the interview, Shivambu and another EFF colleague went to see Rupert and FirstRand co-founder GT Ferreira in Stellenbosch. 

“He and a colleague – I can’t remember the man’s name – came to see us to ask for help. We had lunch together at Tokara, Ferreira’s wine estate on the Helshoogte Pass. They wanted to build a hospital in Limpopo and asked if we could help,” Rupert said. 

“They wanted expertise. They had two businessmen who had already built a couple of Spar supermarkets and wanted to work with Mediclinic. I told them we couldn’t, but maybe the people from Mediclinic could.”

Remgro CEO Jannie Durand then took them to Fleur du Cap, the farm Rupert’s father bought, that is now owned by Remgro. 

“I was concerned that they might think that all white people live like that because they already believe we bathe in champagne,” Rupert recalled to Du Toit. 

For Rupert, it was a functional relationship, but he grew tired and disappointed when the personal attacks from Malema did not abate. 

Shivambu has denied all of this, including meeting Rupert and advising him or receiving any help from him.