A swindler? Not me, says EL man

A young East London man accused of fleecing businesses and individuals across the country on Tuesday told DispatchLIVE his accusers were just jealous of his success.

Muscle cars, private chefs, extravagant travel, and hi-tech toys were what Sibabalwe Smondile, 27, allegedly hustled from businesses in Buffalo City and Cape Town.

He has been described as being “so smooth he could slide uphill”.

Last Thursday, an alleged victim tweeted they were seeking any information on Smondile. Smondile was accused of being a suspect in an open fraud case in Cape Town. 

DispatchLIVE spoke to more than 20 police officers, alleged victims, business owners and finally Smondile himself.

A picture emerged of a smooth-talking, polite gentleman with an excellent eye for Photoshop. But on social media he was excoriated by more than 50 people on a Twitter private group as the "#DirtyEastSwindler”.

Among the allegations against the former Stirling High School and Nelson Mandela University technology dropout were:

• Two Oceans Luxury Travel owner Tumelo Dyantyi said he opened a case against Smondile at the Nyanga Police station in Cape Town on February 10, claiming Smondile had hired an R2m V-Class 250D Mercedes-Benz with a chauffeur in Cape Town but had yet to pay the R4,692 hire fee. Smondile claimed he had made an arrangement to settle the bill. Dyantyi confirmed this but was sceptical he would be paid;
• Head of private security at the five-star Shamwari Private Game Reserve, Rodney Visser, said the business opened a case against Smondile at a police station for an unpaid R200,000 bill for a long weekend birthday bash for 10 people including a private chef, massages at R1,500 for each guest and three bottles of Italian prosecco, at R3,500 a bottle. Visser said Smondile was arrested at the Bay Hotel in Camps Bay on November 10 2021, and was held at Camps Bay police station for a three-day weekend, then released on bail. Smondile responded: “I am not at liberty to speak about this,” and gave no further information; and 
• Photoquip East London sales manager Damien Bradshaw said he opened a case against Smondile at the Cambridge police station on December 29 2020, after Smondile allegedly failed to pay R36,000 for two PlayStation Five packages. The shop was given proof of payment but the funds never reflected in their account. 

Former friend and alleged fraud victim Tristan du Preez has emerged as a leading social media critic.

He lit the flame on Twitter by posting a video in which he attacked Smondile. 

Du Preez told DispatchLIVE the pair met at a Nahoon Beach parking lot in 2019. Smondile was in a matt black Ford Mustang, drinking a bottle of champagne, with a young woman next to him.

They carried on the friendship on Instagram and Du Preez was invited on the fully paid four-day birthday bash at Shamwari.

He said Smondile had claimed he worked as “the head of department of strategy and commercial development” of a national rugby body.

After the party, Shamwari messaged Du Preez saying they could not get hold of Smondile over the unpaid bill.

Dyantyi said Smondile asked for a quote to hire the car and driver for three days and sent proof of payment.

On February 4, he asked to be fetched “from the Cape Town magistrate’s court” and taken to his boutique hotel in the city bowl.

He said Smondile claimed to be an “advocate of the high court and claimed to be representing Zandile Mafe, the man accused of setting parliament alight”.

Attempts to find Smondile on the Legal Practice Council’s list of legal practitioners came to naught.

“He went all over Cape Town, to restaurants, to Signal Hill, with two other people all in one day. But the payment never came through.”

After a number of excuses from Smondile, Dyanti ordered the driver to return the car.

The driver told Dyanti that Smondile became “very aggressive”. Smondile demanded to be dropped off at a bar in Blouberg, and later called Dyanti and asked him to book him an Uber ride back to his hotel. 

Dyanti refused the Uber ride, telling DispatchLIVE: “I doubt he had R100.”

In a passionate defence of his character, Smondile proclaimed his innocence and lashed out at his detractors.

He openly engaged with DispatchLIVE, inviting us to his home but later claimed that, on the advice of his lawyer, he had to retract the information he gave in the interview.

He said he was in Cape Town on personal business while also attending “another fraud case against me”.

He said this case took place on the same day as the parliament arson case. He denied claiming that he was part of the alleged arsonist’s defence team.

He said he did own the Mustang but that it was registered in someone else’s name because he had been “retrenched”. He claimed he was making the payments himself.

He claimed he was a victim of “cyberbullying” and the “campaign against me” was hurting his East London family.

He claimed the hire-car payment did go through and he and Dyanti had come to an agreement to have the debt settled “in full” by February 28.

Dyanti confirmed this agreement but was sceptical that he would be paid. 

Bradshaw said he was subpoenaed, along with witnesses from the East London ICC, Hemingways Mall and Cash Crusaders, to testify in an East London court against Smondile on charges of fraud on February 16.

They were all at court, but even though Smondile was present but soon left.

The magistrate informed all present that Smondile had produced a doctor’s note saying he was running a temperature and was a Covid-19 risk.

Bradshaw said he was with a detective who checked names on the pandemic protocol at the court entrance and could not find Smondile’s name.

He suspected Smondile may have used an alias. “He knew the Covid-19 loopholes. He is so smooth he could slide uphill.” 

Visser said Shamwari was pursuing a legal case against Smondile.

“We chased him for the police and found him at the Bay Hotel in Camps Bay but they had not pulled their knot together. This person abused our hospitality.” — Additional reporting by Matthew Field

DispatchLIVE