Rumbu hires lawyers to clear his name

SUSPECTED fraudster Themba Rumbu, now infamously known as a scammer by Twitter users, has hired lawyers to clear his name.

Rumbu has been accused of running a crowd-funding campaign to raise money for a homeless elderly woman and pocketing the proceeds.

In a letter addressed to the public, his lawyers, Pieter Coetzee Attorneys, claimed: “Rumbu has noted with dismay the comments made by the members of the public, senior government officials and media houses regarding the matter (BackaBuddy campaign).”

Donors expressed outrage when they claimed the money donated to help Khakho Nxumalo, 89, get a new house did not reach its intended beneficiary.

Media reports have since refuted Rumbu’s claims of contributing to Nxumalo’s house being built. The house instead was wholly funded by the Department of Human Settlements.

Rumbu’s lawyers further said that any enquiries should be directed to the law firm.

Attorney at the firm, Amukelani Baloyi, appeared confused about the letter which was drafted when The Star called him yesterday.

Although he confirmed that the firm was assisting Rumbu, he appeared to be lost during the conversation.

“We are currently in communication with various stakeholders. We are going to communicate with the public as time goes on,” said Baloyi.

He sounded confused about the

BackaBuddy campaign.

“We are still in consultation with our client then we will advise the public once we have concrete evidence,” said Baloyi.

Baloyi said that on numerous times during the day he called to try to explain what the letter meant.

Rumbu was back in the news this week when he claimed to be the cousin of Anele Hoyana, who was killed by East London farmer Fritz Joubert.

Olwethu Hoyana, the brother of

Anele, said he had no clue who Rumbu was and had no idea why he would refer to himself as Anele’s cousin.

“I do not know who Themba Rumbu is; my other brother also asked me who this person was. This is clearly an imposter, because when this was brought to my attention he was conducting interviews. That’s when I decided to go on social media and distance ourselves from him,” said Olwethu.

He said Rumbu had no authority to speak for the family. This prompted social media users to share their experiences about some of Rumbu’s campaigns.