Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma’s top bodyguard and head of the presidential protection service (PPS) has been accused of receiving R700 000 in kickbacks from a company linked to supplying the PPS with blue light installations.
The revelation was made by amaBhungane and the Scorpio Unit, who claim Major-General Muzingaye Mxolisi Dladla, who is Zuma's former bodyguard, was assisted by Phineas Manthata, the owner of Instrumentation for Traffic Law Enforcement (ITLE) to put down a R700 000 payment towards the purchase of a Midrand home in 2012.
ITLE has supplied the PPS with blue lights for its various vehicles, but the company also lists various traffic departments and provincial governments as previous clients.
It is alleged that Dladla had secured a bond worth R2.72 million towards the purchase of a R3.2 million home at an exclusive gold estate in Midrand.
But he needed to come up with just over R700 000 to be paid for transfer costs and a deposit.
Its alleged that Manthata provided Dladla with the R700 000 he needed to secure the house.
It's not clear whether when the payment was made in 2012, if Manthata had a contract with PPS.
amaBhungane reports that the SAPS was not forthcoming with answers on the matter, but confirmed that ITLE was added to SAPS' supplier database in 2005.
Manthata has a controversial past, in 2011 the Saturday Star reported that he was illegally driving around Joburg with blue lights and was guarded by an armed JMPD officer.