Madiba+set+me+up+-+Ayob,+Sefara+and+Mapiloko,+City+Press

City Press, Johannesburg, 03/03/2007 20:10 - (SA)
=Madiba set me up, says Ayob=


 * MAKHUDU SEFARA and JACKIE MAPILOKO**

NELSON Mandela’s former lawyer, Ismail Ayob, has told how the former president set him up. He said Mandela remained silent and uninvolved in the middle of an ugly legal war over the use of millions of rands from trust accounts for the benefit of Madiba and his family.

Ayob, who was said to have apologised to Mandela on Tuesday, took the fight to the former president and his advisers yesterday. He accused them of peddling lies and hypocrisy and appealed to their commonsense.

Ayob told City Press he felt betrayed, aggrieved, used and dumped. But he was not bitter with Mandela. He particularly felt that George Bizos and Wim Trengove had abused their positions as trustees of the Nelson Mandela Trust to wage an unnecessary battle. Mandela could also have helped, but “clearly did not deem it necessary”.

Ayob had previously accused Mandela of being too forgetful and lying about several matters which he (Ayob) had to disprove by providing evidence – only for Mandela to forget this again.

In the dispute over the unauthorised sale of Mandela’s artworks and the alleged forging of his signature, Ayob wrote to the Johannesburg High Court that: “As with his signature, the applicant (Mandela) was persuaded with reference to photographs and film clips of him making sketches that he actually did make drawings and, in fact, went for drawing lessons. After a few days, the applicant would again deny having done any of the artwork and the process (of reminding him by use of film clips) would have to be repeated.”

He pointed out Mandela’s vulnerability and his deteriorating state of mind.

He went further to request Mandela to “consult with an independent medical doctor” to sort out his problem.

In the case settled before the Johannesburg High Court this week, Ayob accused Mandela of giving him instructions to buy cars for the Mandela Foundation, to pay the SA Revenue Service (SARS) and make several payments to his children and grandchildren who were under severe financial strain.

City Press is in possession of several documents containing allegations of the poverty afflicting Mandela’s children and grandchildren – despite the R18 million raised from several businesses.

A Deloitte & Touche report by Osman Arbee talks of Zenani Mandela’s trust being “technically insolvent” with liabilities exceeding assets by R750 150. Ayob, in his answering affidavit, said Trengove and Bizos took no interest in the wellbeing of the children, satisfied only “to be known as trustees” of the Mandela Trust yet the people they were supposed to serve, suffered poverty.

“I am aware of the desperate financial position of some of the children and grandchildren. Some of the banking accounts of the family trusts are overdrawn. The bank has, in certain instances, threatened to return even small cheques as unpaid.”

Ayob’s battle with Trengove and Bizos stems from the management of the R18.5 million in one of Mandela’s trust accounts. Businesses and individuals deposited money into this account to be used by him and his children during his retirement. Of the amount, the disputed figure was R2.2 million, made up of R837 124 for tax, R700 000 to eight of Mandela’s children and grand children and about R466 169 for cars.

The Deloitte report indicates that 10 beneficiaries of the Nelson Mandela Trust last submitted their tax returns in 2002 and 2001. These are for Andile, Makaziwe, Makgatho (deceased), Mandla, Mbuso, Nandi, Ndaba, Ndileka, Zenani and Zindzi Mandela. Bizos this week claimed this had been attended to, but SARS could not confirm this. Mandela was also accused of stashing millions of rands in secret foreign accounts.

Bizos and Trengove accused Ayob of making the disbursements without their consent, making a mockery of their involvement as trustees, and thus acting unlawfully.

Ayob on the other hand, said he was requested by no other authority than Mandela and his children to make the disbursements. And, aware of the purpose for which the trust was established and given Bizos and Trengove's alleged lack of interes in its administration, he acted.

But when Bizos and Trengove advanced technical arguments, Ayob expected Mandela to intervene given the fact that he acted under his instructions.

"Mr Mandela suggested it (the use of trust funds) to me. I agreed. It matters not what Trengove knew. For nearly two years, he did not (even) know the name of the trust. Mr Mandela benefited from the disbursements made by the trust. He accepted the benefits. And now he is quiet.

"Yes, I feel aggrieved. I am now paying back money (R700 000), which was used by Mandela's children. There is no suggestion of dishonesty on my part. I now have to apply to a bank to borrow money to pay them, which money did not benefit me or my company."

Worse still, said Ayob, Trengove and Bizos wanted him to repay money he had paid to SARS and money he used to buy cars being used by the Mandela Foundation.

It was only when he threatened to join SARS to the application to have it refund him and claim money from Mandela and arrears that they dropped the claim.

He did the same with the cars. They did not pursue that claim further when he said that the cars should be auctioned and proceeds used towards settling the bill.

He says he took the fall on money paid to Mandela's children because he had no money to litigate against all of them to return the money. He said this move would neither be lawful nor in his interest.

Trengove accused Ayob of spewing "emotional vitriol irrelevant to the affairs of the trust".

He said his "primary interest" was to "find out for what purpose they (disbursements) were made, what their justification was and why and on what basis Mr Ayob made them without the knowledge and consent of his co-trustees".


 * From: http://www.news24.com/City_Press/News/0,7515,186-187_2078129,00.html**

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