On his official Twitter page, Mkhize says the money was paid directly into the account of the African National Congress (ANC) whilst he was the Treasurer General (TG) of the party. He says just like many other business people, companies and organisations, Sodi made donations to the ANC. Mkhize adds he never received any funds from Sodi, either in his personal capacity or through a third party intended for his personal benefit. Sodi and his seven co-accused were on Friday granted bail in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court, following their arrest on Wednesday and Thursday on charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering, among others.

On Friday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Sipho Ngwema, confirmed to OFM News that the state intends on slapping Sodi with charges of bribery too. This follows after the accused on Wednesday allegedly tried to bribe officials following his arrest, when he allegedly brought cash along when taken into police custody, with the intention of bribing these officials.

Meanwhile, Mkhize added in his statement that "I have received various media queries regarding the payment of R6,5million made by Mr Edwin Sodi and wherein my name, Zweli Mkhize, has been put as a reference. I can confirm that during my tenure as the ANC Treasurer General, Mr Sodi, just like many other business persons, companies and organisations, made donations to the African National Congress. In fact, when I took over as the TG, Mr Sodi’s contacts were available in the ANC donors database as one of the people who had previously donated to the ANC".

Sodi and his co-accused, including former Free State’s department of human settlements boss Nthimotse Mokhesi, former national human settlements director-general Thabane Zulu, former MEC for Human Settlements Olly Mlamleli, among others, will have their assets seized by the Assets Forfeiture Unit. They will be back in court on November 11.

OFM News