22 March 2023 | 09:03 AM

Update: Brian Shivambu finds another R1.5m to settle VBS debt

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On 13 September amaBhungane reported how Brian Shivambu, brother of EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu, mysteriously found R3-million to pay most of his R4.4-million debt to VBS Mutual Bank — largely on the day before a liquidation application against his company Sgameka Projects was to be heard.

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This followed Shivambu pleading poverty early in the year and asking VBS’ liquidator for leeway to repay only R5 000 per month.

A week later, on 20 September, Shivambu found another R1.4-million to settle all his debt, new court papers show. This was the day the Johannesburg high court was going to make its order on the liquidation application. A few days later, on 25 September, his attorneys paid over a residual interest charge of R41 696.

This now extinguishes Shivambu’s debt, but the source of his sudden wealth remains unclear. He has ignored questions about it and the payments were made through his attorneys’ trust account.

Access the court documents by clicking on our Evidence docket.

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TAGS: Brian Shabangu, EFF, VBS

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Aisha Abdool Karim

Aisha is a freelance science and health reporter. She is joining the amaB team to work on a project about water and sanitation. Aisha’s passion for long-form narrative and investigative journalism was sparked while doing her master’s degree at Columbia University in New York. After graduating in 2018, she returned to South Africa and began working as a general beat reporter for the Daily Maverick. Aisha joined the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism in 2020 to focus on science reporting. During her time there, she covered the COVID-19 pandemic extensively — from fact-checking harmful medical misinformation to unpacking the science behind vaccine development. Aisha’s special interests include analysing health systems and in-depth coverage of public health issues and infectious diseases. She also loves spreadsheets and digging through data.