Respected businessman Cyril Ramaphosa has described as “mad” claims by Mandla Lamba, the disputed “billionaire” who has told various media that he was mentored by Ramaphosa’s wife.
In a dramatic turn of events this week, Ramaphosa publicly refuted claims that he and his wife Dr Tshepo Motsepe had mentored Lamba – who is being sought by police for fraud-related charges.
Ramaphosa personally called in to comment on an SAFM interview with Lamba and said his family didn’t know Lamba “from Adam”.
Lamba was quoted in the Sunday World as having said he relied on Motsepe for inspiration and business counsel.
“This young man is not known to us. We don’t know him from Adam. We are not his mentors. We’ve never met him,” Ramaphosa told the radio station.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent after his intervention on SAFM’s Siki Mgabadeli show on Friday, Ramaphosa said he felt it was necessary “to refute these mad claims”.
He said Lamba had first contacted him in August at the Shanduka Group, of which Ramaphosa is chairman.
Ramaphosa said Lamba had also managed to trace Motsepe’s cellphone number and e-mail address, but that the couple had never met him in person.
“We’ve never met him. My wife and I would never lie about that. I don’t know how he got my telephone number at Shanduka. He made contact with my wife to say ‘thank you for helping me’.”
Ramaphosa said Lamba had SMSed his wife twice to ask her to buy copies of Mining Weekly and Leadership magazines, where he was featured.
“She bought Leadership and she said (to me): ‘I don’t know this young man’,” Ramaphosa said.
“We don’t want to get into further exchanges with him. We’ve never met him. We’ve never mentored him.”
Ramaphosa did not want to be drawn on a possible motive for Lamba’s “dropping my name” but said Lamba had made contact “just when he started appearing in the media”.
In response to Ramaphosa’s rebuttal, Lamba said: “I wouldn’t go to the media and say I know his wife if I didn’t.”
Lamba said he had “proof of correspondence” with Motsepe.
“I am very surprised that he denies knowing me. Now that the publicity is bad around my name they are denying me,” he said.
He added: “This is the same thing that happened to Jesus. When things were bad they (his followers) denied him.”
Lamba claimed to have known Motsepe “for a year” but declined to say how.
Lamba has resigned as chairman of East American Resources (EAR) amid a sea of allegations that he has misrepresented himself and in some cases blatantly lied about his influence in the mining industry, contacts and wealth.
Last week the Sunday Independent reported that police were looking for Lamba, who has been described as South Africa’s youngest mining tycoon.
Lamba denied that he resigned from EAR as a result of the media storm surrounding his businesses and allegations from various quarters that he was a fraudster.
Last week The Sunday Independent reported that police were searching for him for allegedly absconding from theft and culpable homicide cases.
The City Press reported that there was no basis for many of his claims relating to business acquisitions, mining projects and his academic qualifications.
Lamba threatened on air to “nail” the City Press journalist.
A number of business partners have emerged saying Lamba had either defrauded them or lied in some way.
One Rustenburg businessman told SAFM he was considering laying criminal charges against Lamba for fraud after Lamba misled them to throw in money at a non-existent business deal.
According to the press release from EAR, Lamba had decided several months ago to resign as chairman of the mining company, in order to focus on other business endeavours.
The company said Dr Vusi Mncube would take over.
EAR said his resignation had been delayed because he had yet to finalise a “critical deal”.
The Sunday Independent understands the deal to be the finalisation of a R300-million investment by a Cayman Island company.
Equity Partners Fund SPC (Segregated Portfolio Company) confirmed they had been in talks with EAR to secure a R300m investment, but director Joseph LaRocco described the talks as being in the “very preliminary” stages.
LaRocco said a term sheet had been sent to EAR but that no agreement had been signed.
LaRocco could not say how the discussions had begun. “Either a company contacts us directly or we contact them.”
LaRocco said his company had taken “no decision” as yet on whether to finance EAR.
“We’ve just sent them the term sheet. The next step is for them to sign it if they are interested and then I sign it and we take it from there.”
He added that it was “way too preliminary to know” at this stage if the two companies would do business.
However Lamba told The Sunday Independent that the deal was on the verge of finalisation.
He said the R300m would be used to acquire a JSE-listed company which was “performing poorly”.
Lamba said he would now be “focusing on helping young entrepreneurs through majors and acquisitions”. - Sunday Independent