ANC boss R3.6m life insurance claims

THE woes of a suspended ANC branch chairman are mounting weekly after an insurance company and police confirmed they are investigating life insurance claims against his name.

A Dispatch investigation has found that a Sanlam policy worth R100 000 in the name of Zolani Xego, the now-suspended Nokhanime Thomas branch ANC chairperson, was paid out in 2007.

This was the same year that Xego was officially recorded as “deceased” by Home Affairs.

The investigation also revealed another two Discovery Life policies worth R3.5 million that were repudiated by the company when Xego’s wife Vuyelwa Hlekiso-Xego attempted to make claims on her husband’s “death” the same year.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Xego told the Dispatch he knew nothing about the life policy claims.

“You must call those people who made the claims, not me, because I am the one who was robbed. Or are you saying that I am the one who did all this,” Xego asked.

When told that, according to Discovery, the claimant was his wife, Xego said the Dispatch should contact her instead, but refused to provide her contact details. “Do whatever you have been doing and check all these things. I will comment in court. You just continue and call all these people that made the claims,” said Xego.

His wife, who works for Buffalo City Municipality, could not be reached for comment.

Two weeks ago the Dispatch reported how a text message to the newspaper apparently from Xego claimed that he had helped two Buffalo City councillors buy driver’s licences. See ’I bought licences’ The two councillors, former mayor Sakhumzi Caga and Monwabisi Mahodi, who are being investigated by the Special Investigation Unit, also opened a case of blackmail against Xego. See Councillors lay blackmail charges

Following that report, the Dispatch established that Xego had apparently “died” in August 2007. See Top ANC official is ‘dead’ according to his ID

This week Xego was suspended by the ANC and charged with bringing the party into disrepute. See ANC officer to face charge of harming party

Discovery Holdings deputy general manager of forensic services Marius Smit said that a death claim regarding two life policies belonging to Xego was submitted to them by his wife in 2007.

“Both claims were repudiated during our normal claims assessment process. During 2008, we were contacted by the East London organised crime unit, who alleged that Mr Xego was in fact still alive and that they were investigating various counts of alleged fraud against him.”

Smit said the policies were worth R1.8 million and R1.7m .

Police spokesperson Superintendent Mtati Tana confirmed they were investigating cases of fraud but declined to divulge further information.

Sanlam spokesperson Frans van Rensburg confirmed the company had honoured a life policy in Xego’s name in 2007, but he refused to say who the beneficiary was.

Van Rensburg refused to comment further, saying they were conducting their own investigation.

In all the claims Xego’s identity number, which on the Home Affairs system records him as “deceased”, was used to make the claims.

Xego previously alleged his identity number was “officially changed” by the department last year, but he refused to offer evidence to prove it.

Home Affairs is also looking into the circumstances of his “death” to establish how his status had been changed in East London on August 1, 2007 .

Eastern Cape Home Affairs acting department manager Khanyisile Diko said they had been unable to trace a copy of the death certificate and were continuing their investigation.

“We are trying to trace the hard copy of the certificate because we cannot find it,” said Diko.

“ If we can find it and trace the perpetrator this is going to be a lesson to those potential offenders.”