President Cyril Ramaphosa says it was nothing more than a walk. A coincidence. Just a casual stroll that happened to place him outside the multimillion-rand Sandton mansion of Hangwani Maumela, the man accused of siphoning hundreds of millions from Tembisa Hospital.
But the video tells a different story – the president seen standing outside the home, smiling and embracing Maumela – a figure now at the centre of a R2 billion corruption scandal.
As the two men embrace, Ramaphosa says, ” I’ll give you some love”.
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Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, has, however, been quick to dismiss the footage, calling it “purely coincidental.”
According to Magwenya, the president “loves to walk whenever he finds time” and had invited Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Jomo Sibiya, then his special advisor, to join him. They were, he said, stopped on the street by radio personality Tbo Touch and his mentor, Bishop Noel Jones.
“They took pictures, and there’s even a video,” Magwenya said. “The president regularly walks and drives past the house because it’s not far from his home in Hyde Park. He didn’t know it belonged to Maumela.”
Magwenya called it “wrong” to use the video as evidence of a relationship between the two men, adding that Ramaphosa “has no personal relationship with Maumela” and is not related to him, “except that he was once married to Maumela’s aunt.”
He also said that before his appointment as Deputy President in 2014, Ramaphosa gathered his immediate family and ordered them to end or avoid any business dealings with the state.
“Maumela was not part of that meeting because he is not an immediate family member,” Magwenya said.
The video surfaced a day after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) raided Maumela’s luxury Sandhurst home. The SIU operation targeted assets allegedly linked to the looting of over R2 billion from Tembisa Hospital.
An SIU report found that Maumela led one of three syndicates that diverted public healthcare funds through fraudulent tenders, inflated pricing, and fake deliveries. Investigators said he used a network of 41 companies to siphon off R820 million in two years.
Magwenya also said that before Ramaphosa was appointed as Deputy President (in 2014), he gathered his immediate family and sternly instructed them to either exit or stop any business that they did or intended to do with the government and state institutions.
He said Maumela was not part of that meeting because he is not an immediate family member.
On Sunday, the entrance to Maumela’s luxury house in Sandhurst in Sandton, was guarded by muscular security guards, wearing black shirts and jeans, who asked anyone getting to close to the entrance to leave ‘or be assisted to leave’.
During the raid, the SIU seized three Lamborghinis, designer furniture, expensive artwork, and other property worth R133.5 million. The broader investigation has frozen or identified assets worth R900 million in total.
Ramaphosa has denied ever meeting Maumela, though the two are distantly related by a previous marriage.
On Sunday, Maumela’s Sandhurst mansion remained heavily guarded. Security staff in black shirts and jeans warned passersby to stay away “or be assisted to leave.” No photos were allowed.
Officials said Maumela has not been seen since Thursday’s raid.
Public records show the MHR Maumela Family Trust bought two adjoining plots in Sandhurst — one for R70 million in 2021 and another for R16 million in 2022 — combining them into an R86 million three-story mansion. The property includes multiple wings, infinity pools, manicured gardens, a car wash, and a hair salon.
Neighbors describe the area as quiet and filled with high-profile residents, including politicians such as Julius Malema.
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