Sarah-Jane Trent’s Shocking Testimony Exposes Corruption in Ramaphosa’s Inner Circle

Unveiling the Complex Web of Alleged Influence and Corruption

Sarah-Jane Trent, an attorney and certified fraud examiner, has brought to light a series of troubling connections between high-ranking government officials and key institutions. Her testimony before a committee investigating allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has raised questions about potential honey traps aimed at capturing influential figures.

This came after Paul O’Sullivan, Trent’s former boss, had given his evidence and walked out a week earlier. While previous testimonies had focused on Robert McBride, the former head of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), Trent’s testimony shed more light on his relationship with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s advisor, Bejani Chauke.

The Ad Hoc Committee heard that Trent and O’Sullivan had accessed personal information illegally as part of their efforts to plot the downfall of former acting national commissioner Khomotso Phahlane. ANC MP Xola Nqola claimed that among the strategies employed was that Trent dated McBride, while the other provided financial resources to execute the program of Phahlane’s collapse.

O’Sullivan confirmed that he contributed to McBride’s legal fees during his suspension challenge and later lodged a case against Phahlane upon reinstatement to assist IPID in the investigation. When questioned by ANC MP Khusela Diko-Sangoni, Trent revealed that she met Chauke at O’Sullivan’s non-profit organization, Forensic for Justice, when her former boss reached out to someone who could communicate with Ramaphosa.

“He wanted to speak to Andile Ramaphosa to see if he would want to clear his name or give his version of events because we were opening a case and there were allegations against him. That is how I met Dr Chauke,” she said.

This happened when it emerged that Ramaphosa’s son, Andile, was paid R2 million by the controversial Bosasa company. When asked by MK Party’s MP Sibonelo Nomvalo, Trent reiterated that they had been planning to open a criminal case related to Bosasa.

“In one of the affidavits, there was an allegation against Andile Ramaphosa and Paul wanted to try to get in touch with Andile Ramaphosa to get his side version. Bejani came to meet us and Andile Ramaphosa came. We met him. That is how I met him,” she said about her first encounter with Chauke.

She told the MPs that she did not know whether Andile and Chauke were friends. It turned out that the criminal case related to former ANC MP Vincent Smith, who was imprisoned earlier this week. However, the MPs were intrigued that Trent and O’Sullivan approached Andile when he was not a complainant.

“The dots are unconnected,” said Nomvalo. MK Party MP Vusi Shongwe observed that Trent did not investigate Andile, but wanted to clear his name. “You went to clear his name immediately. Are you getting anything from Ramaphosa?” asked Shongwe.

Her response was: “No.” EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys noted that her employment as the CEO of Chauke’s foundation took place after he opened a criminal case against Smith. Mathys reasoned that O’Sullivan looked around to see who might be involved in corruption and then digs up some dirt to “extort” money.

“Andile’s name came up. That is how you contacted Andile Ramaphosa. Why would you randomly go and say I am going to open a case against Vincent Smith,” she said. “The target is high-profile people and you go and look who is involved in this, and say let’s go and see because soon thereafter, you get a job as CEO,” she said.

Trent denied that her employment at the foundation was soon after she left O’Sullivan’s company in 2022 after opening the case against Smith. “There was nothing dodgy there,” she said.

Regarding her relationship with Chauke, Trent said: “We had tea at some point.” “I would not say friends but I worked for his foundation,” she said. Trent also told the MPs that she had kept in touch with Chauke. “We messaged, and I said oh yes, I resigned from Paul O’Sullivan. A couple of months later, he sent a message to say listen I am looking for someone to run my foundation.”

During her testimony, Trent maintained that O’Sullivan and Chauke were not friends or anything like that. This was against the backdrop of O’Sullivan claiming that he was approached by Ramaphosa’s then advisor Chauke to vet the people for appointment to the police national commissioner position, now occupied by Fannie Masemola.

He claimed that he was given eight names to conduct lifestyle audits on. Among the names, O’Sullivan stated, was Masemola and Mkhwanazi, along with four others who were not suitable for the appointment because of their lifestyle. In February, Chauke dismissed O’Sullivan’s claim and maintained that he never solicited his involvement.

He stated that he would receive a barrage of suggestion when Ramaphosa was searching for suitable candidates for upcoming appointments. According to Chauke, he was approached by lobbyists to influence Ramaphosa’s decision and that he had not allowed undue influence to sway the outcome. He confirmed that O’Sullivan was one of the people who approached him.

“Only two candidates were, according to him, fit for the position. One of those he proposed was not even on the shortlist,” said Chauke, emphasizing “I did not solicit Mr O’Sullivan’s involvement.”

When Trent was asked about the vetting of the candidates for the commissioner’s position, Trent said she did not know how it came about. “I don’t think he asked Paul to vet the potential commissioner of police; however, I don’t have correspondence,” she said. Trent added that she did not ask why O’Sullivan claimed he was asked to vet the commissioner.

“I don’t know why he said that,” she said when responding to Mathys. “I would say that things do get exaggerated a lot. Certainly, I just sometimes don’t understand why he would say what he says. It is just, there is no reason. I don’t know. It makes everything very difficult. You don’t know what you look at or investigating.”