19 July 2023
SJC staff and members picketed outside the Lingelethu West Police Station on 29 July 2022 against former general manager Xolani Klaas (pictured on the poster). Archive photo: Mary-Anne Gontsana
The former general manager of the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) accused of defrauding the organisation has struck a deal with the state and has been ordered to pay a fine of R10,000 or face a year in jail.
Xolani Klaas, 38, joined the SJC in late 2019, in a newly created finance and governance manager role. In 2021, he was promoted to general manager, which was also a newly created role. After the October 2021 departure of the SJC’s director, Mandisa Dyantyi, Klaas remained as the organisation’s most senior employee.
In June 2022, GroundUp reported that bank statements indicated that Klaas appeared to be using SJC funds to buy furniture, household appliances, luxury clothes, watches, groceries, and other expensive technology which amounted to about R730,000. The SJC’s bank card was in Klaas’s possession.
Klaas was subsequently suspended and later the same month, SJC staff laid criminal charges against him at Lingelethu West Police Station. Klaas then returned some furniture, purchased using SJC money, to the organisation’s offices.
In June this year, Klaas’s lawyer, Loyiso Mavundla, confirmed in the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court that he had reached a plea and sentence agreement.
This week, it was revealed in court that Klaas would only be pleading guilty to selling a cellphone, owned by the SJC, for his own financial gain. Klaas appeared more confident in the dock on Monday, compared to his usual timid demeanour at previous hearings.
In the plea agreement, Klaas admits that on 23 June 2022, he went to Cash Crusaders in Belhar and sold an IPhone 13 Pro Max, valued at over R28,000. He said he did this knowing that the cellphone belonged to the SJC. He had already been suspended by the organisation at this time.
The court then ordered Klaas to pay a fine of R20,000 or face 24 months imprisonment, of which R10,000 or a year imprisonment is suspended for five years on condition that he is not found guilty of a similar crime.
According to provincial National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila, the prosecution needed to be able to prove each allegation beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The [SJC] were unable to give it [evidence] to us. The only count that could be proven was the cellphone. Cash Crusaders checked and discovered that the cellphone was registered to the SJC and not to him personally. There was also video footage of him at Cash Crusaders,” he said.
Ntabazalila noted that the organisation was “a mess” and management “had crumbled” at the time of the incident. He noted that one of the investigator’s findings was that there was no management authority running SJC. “If we can’t prove that he knew that he can’t buy the things in question, and it is not even stipulated in his contract, then what do we do?”
“The case is not closed. Should we get the proper information, the case will return to court,” said Ntabazalila.
Meanwhile, SJC’s new office administrator, Thandokazi Njamela, said, “I’m not going to lie, I’m very disappointed by the outcome. With all the information we provided to the investigator and prosecution, for them to only come now with one charge.”
“The fact that Xolani only has to pay R10,000 after using so much more is frustrating. Xolani has ruined many lives and now he goes scot free, without punishment. This sentence is not a punishment,” said Njamela.