Solidarity welcomes sequestration of former Aurora director Khulubuse Zuma – more sequestrations to follow 

Khulubuse Zuma, former director of Aurora Empowerment Systems and second cousin of former president Jacob Zuma was sequestrated in the Durban High Court on Wednesday, 16 January 2019. This followed after he failed to comply with the repayment agreement that the liquidators, with the support of Solidarity, agreed upon with Zuma. 

Solidarity welcomed Zuma’s sequestration. According to Solidarity General Secretary Gideon du Plessis, this means that justice will finally prevail for the 5 300 Aurora employees who lost their jobs, after Aurora destroyed the Pamodzi mines that were temporarily placed under their supervision by the Pamodzi liquidators in 2009-2010, and after Aurora also failed to pay the employees’ salaries for a period of eight months. 

Du Plessis further said that the sequestration order also means that a full investigation can now be conducted into all of Zuma’s business interests from September 2009 when he was appointed as director of Aurora until the date of sequestration. “Hopefully this investigation will reveal what happened to the approximately R170 million that disappeared at the mines, and also what Zuma’s business interests in Africa was or is,” said Du Plessis. 

The investigation will also determine whether Zuma has any interests in Dubai. 

Du Plessis said that in the meantime, Zuma’s possessions will be auctioned off and hopefully the proceeds of the auction can be used to pay some of the former Aurora employees’ outstanding salaries. The sequestration application for another former Aurora director, Zondwa Mandela, grandchild of Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, will be heard in February 2019 and the sequestration applications against other former Aurora directors, Fazel and Solly Bhana, is in the process of being finalised. 

Statement issued by Gideon du Plessis, General Secretary: Solidarity, 18 January 2019