Joburg MMC for Community Development, Kabelo Gwamanda. File Picture: Itumeleng English/ Independent Newspapers
Former executive mayor of the City of Joburg, Kabelo Gwamanda has spoken about his widely reported arrest, after he was charged for allegedly swindling Soweto residents.
The Joburg MMC for community development was arrested for alleged funeral policy fraud.
In a short video shared by Gwamanda’s X page, the former mayor casually addresses the issue of his arrest, speaking to an unidentified interviewer whose voice is heard but the interviewer is not visible in the video.
The woman interviewer asks: “We were told you were arrested?”
Gwamanda responds: You know, in South Africa as a country, growing up black, it’s a possibility that none of us can avoid - regardless of the path you choose, whether you choose to serve or to engage in nefarious activities”.
“The fact of the matter is that the relationship that South Africans have with law enforcement is a relationship that needs to be worked on very strongly, so that we understand what each of our roles are in this undertaking.
“But I am here at home. I cannot swim, there is a storm coming in the City of Johannesburg. Thank you very much,” said the former executive mayor.
In the earlier segment of the video, Gwamanda appealed to Joburg residents to exercise caution, given the severe weather charactised by heavy rains experienced in Gauteng and other parts of South Africa on Sunday.
IOL reported on Sunday that Gwamanda who is an Al Jama-ah councillor was arrested in connection with an alleged funeral policy scam which he allegedly ran from 2011 through his company, Ithemba Lama Afrika.
It is alleged that the former mayor working with another person conned unsuspecting Soweto residents into the scheme, where the community members paid monthly payments for funeral insurance.
The business was operated from 2011 and the the businesspeople allegedly ran away when policyholders tried to claim from the scheme.
According to media reports, the victims believed Gwamanda had died – only to see him on television, speaking as mayor of the City of Joburg.
IOL