The former king of the Vhavenda, Toni Mphephu Ramabulana, suffered yet another defeat when his request to appeal against an earlier High Court ruling that he must repay R5.6 million of the VBS loot was turned down.
Judge Motsamai Makume ruled last week that Ramabulana's application to appeal had no reasonable chance of success. "I do not deem it necessary to deal with each and every ground of appeal, save to say that none of them would stand any possibility of succeeding in the Appeals Court," he said.
On 29 November last year, Judge Makume ordered Ramabulana to pay back R5,586,555 plus interest to VBS Mutual Bank, which he had used to buy three luxury vehicles. Ramabulana purchased a Range Rover 5.0 V8, a BMW 760i Sedan, and a Mercedes-Benz V250d with the money.
A report compiled by advocate Terry Motau and law firm Werksmans states that Ramabulana received at least R18 million in gratuitous payments from VBS Mutual Bank. Anoosh Rooplal of SNG Grant Thornton was appointed as the liquidator and left with the task of recouping the money.
Ramabulana initially claimed that the cars had been "gifted" to him. His lawyers later argued that the loans made to him had been reckless lending as the bank had never established whether he could repay the debt, and that VBS was not a registered credit provider. They also claimed that the debts had become prescribed.
When the High Court dismissed his claims and ordered him to repay the debt, Ramabulana instructed his lawyers to request permission to appeal the ruling.
"The main grounds of appeal seem to be the Applicant's reliance on the principle of reckless credit granting, followed by prescription, and lastly, that the Applicant never admitted liability," said Judge Makume in last week's ruling.
Judge Makume once again highlighted the fact that Ramabulana had admitted knowing about the debt and that he had indicated to the bank that he could afford the repayments. "[An] assessment was done based on documentation that the Applicant himself presented to the bank. I fail to understand what else the bank should have done to satisfy itself that indeed the Applicant will afford repayments," said the judge.
Apart from the money that needs to be repaid, Ramabulana is also burdened with the legal costs. "The Applicant is ordered to pay the costs of this application, which costs shall include costs of two Counsel," Judge Makume ruled.