Let’s hope Pheto’s hands are clean

THE past weekend must have been the most excruciating one for the internationally-acclaimed actress Terry Pheto.

On Friday it was reported that the Special Investigating Unit had obtained a high court preservation order to freeze nine luxury properties, cars and two restaurants valued at about R25million, belonging to various individuals, including Pheto.

Pheto, who was a lead actress in the Oscar-winning feature film, Tsotsi, and eight other people, including two lawyers, an accountant, a hotel group chief executive and a former commissioner of the National Lottery Commission (NLC), were reportedly being investigated by the SIU in a multimillion-rand fraud scheme, which allegedly saw them obtaining properties through money fraudulently acquired from the NLC.

The news came as a shock, not only to Pheto, but also to her followers, friends, family and the film and entertainment industry world-wide.

The actress, throughout the weekend, had to fend off curious paparazzi and field questions as to her alleged involvement in the fraud that was likely to make the film Tsotsi look like a Sunday picnic.

The 2005 film – adapted from a novel by Athol Fugard – is about a young street thug who steals a car only to discover a baby in the back seat. The thug eventually forces Mirriam (Pheto) to mother the child.

Over the weekend, through a Twitter statement, Pheto denied her involvement in the fraud, saying she was dismayed to discover that she was the subject of an SIU probe into allegations relating to funding by the NLC.

She added that she held the law in high regard and would co-operate fully with the investigation in an open and transparent manner.

Yesterday, in what would sound like an exoneration and a relief, the SIU explained how Pheto’s name came to the fore in their investigation.

In a statement, the unit said her name was attached to the alleged fraud because they were tracing the money that was supposed to have gone to a non-profit making organisation and to other people, but ended up being used to buy the property that Pheto now owns.

We can only hope that our shining star is squeaky clean.