Johanensburg - Tokyo Sexwale has denied knowing a conman who claimed to be his political adviser, labelling him a liar who is making a mockery of the criminal justice system.
Convicted for masterminding fraud and other offences totalling R2 million at the SA Post Office, Onasis Maxam dropped Sexwale’s name when pleading for leniency, saying they had such good relations that the human settlements minister had recently offered him a job at Mvelaphanda.
Maxam also said the Johannesburg High court should exercise mercy when sentencing him as he was a prominent member of the ANC in Ekurhuleni who still had a lot to offer society. But Sexwale distanced himself from the 36-year-old man’s claims on Tuesday, saying he did not know him from a bar of soap.
“Not only does the minister not know this convicted conman and fraudster, but clearly he is now turning the court into a joke,” said Sexwale’s spokesman, Xolani Xundu.
When testifying in mitigation of sentencing on Monday, the former branch manager at the Tembisa South post office said: “I’ve recently found employment from Mr Tokyo Sexwale. I’m a political adviser.
“I’m a prominent ANC member in the Ekurhuleni region and I play a very significant role in the upliftment of poor people in my community.”
He said further that he was acquiring mining rights from a coal mine in Mozambique, “so I still have a lot to contribute to this country”.
When asked about the proposed amendment aimed at rooting out the rot from the ANC by expelling members convicted of theft, fraud and corruption, Maxam said the matter was “not policy yet”.
On Tuesday, State advocate Willemien Vos asked the court to lock him up for a very long period, even calling Post Office investigator Merwe van Rensburg to testify in aggravation of sentencing.
He told the court that fraudulent activities committed by Post Office employees like Maxam cost the parastatal millions of rand.
Sentencing continues.
The Star