Evidence wa ka Ngobeni
Until November last year, Keith Kunene enjoyed an enviable reputation as one of South Africa’s leading businessmen.
He heads one of the country’s largest, multimillion-rand black family empires, the Kunene Brothers.
His business achievements have earned him accolades and rave reviews in the country’s glossy magazines. By all accounts, Kunene is a hard- working and dedicated businessman of the old school. But this week his reputation lay in tatters after it emerged that he is being investigated for allegedly taking bribes in an international oil transaction while he was at the helm of the state’s Central Energy Fund (CEF).
Last year Kunene’s company received Business Day’s Business Achievement Award for its “exemplary model of black economic empowerment”, and Kunene was hailed for the entrepreneurial spirit that has propelled Kunene Brothers. All was going very well for the Vosloorus-born businessmen and lawyer until a major oil scandal broke at the CEF. The scandal, which was first publicised by this newspaper, caused havoc in the oil sector and Kunene, and his colleagues were sent packing by Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs Phumzile Mlambo-Ncguka, who also announced a criminal investigation into the affair. Despite a series of reports by this news- paper and others on how Kunene and his former colleagues at CEF and its subsidiary, the Strategic Fuel Fund, had brokered a secret deal without Mlambo-Ncguka’s knowledge, Kunene’s standing has remained unscathed in several quarters. In its February issue, Enterprise magazine published a cover story paying tribute to Kunene and his four brothers entitled “In the shadow of Fortune”, a reference to Kunene’s father. “Greatness has its price and more often than not an exacting one at that. For Keith Kunene, father of a dynasty, leader of the largest black family business in South Africa, director of companies, pillar of society and chair of the Central Energy Fund, there have been number of challenges and problems.” The Enterprise feature, however, did not address his problems at CEF. Kunene apparently prefers not to comment publicly about the oil deal. It is not clear whether he will comment on the latest allegations about the bribes. The state alleges Kunene took the bribes from key companies in the oil deal, Trafigura and its local arm High Beam. If the affidavits by two key witnesses at the state oil company are anything to go by, Kunene may be in big trouble. He may well face a jail term and a possible ban on future deals with government. If this happens, the news will meet mixed reactions.
Businessmen who know Kunene say he has created many enemies for the past few years. Kunene, according to some businessmen in Vosloorus, prefers to be dominant and rates himself highly and sometimes undermines others. While some may celebrate his demise, other people will receive the news with great pain and sadness. Kunene is highly regarded within the black middle class and in his township he is seen as a role model. People from Vosloorus know the Kunene family from as far back as 1978, when the late Fortune Kunene opened a fresh milk outlet there. The family firm took off when the brothers branched out into the sale and distribution of Coca-Cola products in the townships, then grew with their involvement in the telecommunications and electronics industries. The Volsloorus community cherishes the success of the Kunene family, and uses it as a beacon of hope. Perhaps one of the saddest aspects of the Kunene story is the amount of the alleged bribes initially $20 000 and a bottle of Armagnac for Kunene and two colleagues. Keith Kunene is believed to be in the same bracket as the country’s top earners. With less trouble, he could legitimately make somewhat more than that for a few weeks’ work.