The R100 Million Campaign | The Truth SuidAfrika

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THE CAMPAIGN

The Two Hundred Million Reasons

At the heart of this campaign lies one staggering figure: R200 million. This is the total patrimonial loss I have suffered due to a calculated and coordinated campaign orchestrated by the landlords and their collaborators.

The Consortium's motivation was simple—greed. They were driven by the prospect of financial gains equivalent to my losses. To achieve this, they employed a range of illegal tactics: fabricating crimes, manipulating media narratives, weaponising state resources, and committing various criminal acts. Their efforts allowed them to portray themselves as victims while casting me as the villain.

However, the evidence—thousands of files and hundreds of documents—tells a very different story. This campaign is a case study in systemic abuse, unchecked power, and calculated deceit.

Gross Misconduct, Corruption, and Criminal Acts

I have provided the timelines below, which outline a chronological account of the campaign, criminality, and corruption. As a result of their actions, I spent nearly four months in Pollsmoor Prison, a period they attempted to extend into many more months or even years. Their efforts were only thwarted by the intervention of two competent magistrates.

The crimes and actions committed by the Consortium include, but are not limited to:

Four unlawful arrests involving three different individuals.
Three wrongful imprisonments, including property manager Ollie Sokanyile, who was arrested and imprisoned out of spite for aiding guests and staff during an illegal eviction.
My unlawful detentions in Pollsmoor Prison: August 4–23, 2022, and December 14, 2022–March 14, 2023.
Obstruction of justice: Arrests and detentions were weaponised for strategic advantage in civil court proceedings. For instance, my August arrest disrupted spoliation proceedings, while my December arrest facilitated two illegal evictions and allowed Keith Broad to submit an unopposed court application the following morning.
Criminal defamation: Creating a fabricated narrative of fraud involving R34 million and thousands of alleged victims to paint the real criminals as victims.
Orchestrating false victims: Booking.com was deliberately kept unaware of the arrests, detentions, and evictions. This ensured guests remained in the dark until their arrival, leaving hundreds of families homeless and out of pocket. Guests were then manipulated into filing criminal charges, which were misrepresented as evidence of fraud on my part.
Two dozen illegal attempts to seize properties, with SAPS either complicit or turning a blind eye.
Using arrests to disguise unlawful evictions, presenting landlords with keys minutes after my removal.
SAPS assistance in illegal actions, including officers caught on video lying to support evictions.
Illegal operations at 16 Leirmans Road: A secret raid during my arrest involved Wouter de Swardt, Denis Dalton (posing as a police officer), and SAPS officers. They arrested and threatened the housekeeper, confiscated keys, and returned the property to Keith Broad.
Abuse of remand detention: Used as a tool to eliminate opposition.
Executing arrests without warrants or with warrants previously rejected by magistrates.
Fabricated dockets: Containing false affidavits and no independent evidence, dockets were used to justify arrests for strategic purposes rather than as the result of genuine investigations.
Coordinated defamation campaigns: Lavaging relationships with Media24, over 20 articles were published to support the campaign between August 2022 and February 2023, coinciding precisely with legal manoeuvres by Keith Broad.
Theft of possessions, including millions of Rand worth of artwork and furniture.
Theft of rental premiums, exceeding R100 million.
Theft of my jewellery collection, valued at R15 million.
Statistical improbability of coincidence: The likelihood that arrests, evictions, and media campaigns coincided without coordination is essentially zero.
False testimony from SAPS officers: Lies told in court to justify my detention and deny bail, including false claims that I was wanted for deportation or had overstayed my visa.
Theft of my passport: Its illegal retention by Sergeant Duna and Sergeant Stevens prevented visa extensions and was later used to object to bail.
Witness intimidation: Witnesses were coerced under threat of imprisonment to sign pre-written affidavits that supported fabricated charges.
Abuse of protection orders: Orders obtained through perjury were served on me while I was in SAPS custody, creating legal hurdles that favoured the landlords.
Failure to act on legitimate warrants: SAPS ignored valid arrest warrants for Keith Broad, demonstrating clear bias.
Overuse of state resources: Special task forces, SWAT teams, and dozens of officers were mobilized for white-collar charges dismissed as civil disputes.
Influence over SAPS: Wouter de Swardt directed police actions during my arrests, raids, and property seizures, with his authority going unchallenged.

Collusion with private investigators: Three private investigators participated in my arrest, including one who had embezzled R1.2 million and planned to drug, torture, and murder me.

Complicity and Coordination

It is evident that Hout Bay SAPS and Bellville Commercial Crime must bear significant responsibility. They were aware of the secret operation carried out on December 14, when De Swardt diverted several officers for a raid under the guise of legal authority. They were equally aware of the absurdity of the charges justifying the raid and arrest.

While the extent of the collusion within SAPS remains uncertain, it is clear that the entire Hout Bay SAPS was complicit, and a significant portion of Bellville Commercial Crime likely played a role.

During my arrest, I recall the traumatic scene of approximately two dozen personnel, including a fully armed SWAT team, Hawks officers, Bellville Commercial Crime officers, and Hout Bay officers. This display of state power underscores the extent to which the state’s resources were weaponised for a private vendetta—all funded by South African taxpayers.

Failures of Oversight and Accountability

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has proven itself unwilling or incapable of investigating the illegal behaviour of the officers involved. Despite numerous emails and complaints filed since April 2023, IPID has yet to act.

The recent guilty verdict in the PSIRA investigation against De Swardt might prompt further scrutiny, but given IPID’s prolonged inaction, optimism is limited. It’s worth noting that De Swardt, as a private individual with no official rank, does not fall under IPID’s jurisdiction.

Sergeant Stevens, who arrested me in December, epitomized the disdain for oversight, mocking a note on my wall mentioning "IPID" and calling them “pathetic and toothless.” This statement reflects the systemic issues within law enforcement and the lack of accountability for their actions.

The PSIRA decision, however, validates my allegations and provides critical credibility to my account. Until now, I have been at a disadvantage as De Swardt dominated the narrative through fabricated articles, trumped-up charges, and his relationship with Media24. But the evidence, facts, and outcomes of investigations will ultimately vindicate my position.

Efforts to Expose the Truth

Initially, I deliberately limited the number of organizations I contacted, focusing only on IPID to investigate police misconduct and PSIRA to investigate De Swardt’s role. My intention was to allow investigations and prosecutions to proceed quickly and discreetly, reducing the risk of retaliation.

However, after waiting over 18 months for meaningful action, I expanded my efforts. I have contacted numerous organizations and individuals, including:

The Home Affairs Minister and Director General,
The Minister of Police,
The Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight,
The SAPS complaints system,
Premier Alan Winde,
The Press Council Ombudsman,
The British Embassy, and
The Police Ombudsman, tasked with addressing IPID’s failure to act.

I have also approached journalists and publications, including those responsible for publishing defamatory articles, to set the record straight. These actions place me at considerable risk of further retaliation, including incarceration or worse.

The lengths to which De Swardt and SAPS went to sabotage me and achieve their goals are staggering. Their tactics included:

Arresting and attempting to imprison property manager Ollie Sokanyile purely out of spite after they had already achieved their objective of seizing the property.
Using arrests as a cover to execute illegal evictions, leaving hundreds of families homeless.
Stealing over R100 million in rental premiums, millions in refurbishment costs, and several million in personal possessions, furniture, and artwork.
Threatening and intimidating my associates and staff with imprisonment unless they signed prewritten affidavits supporting fabricated charges.

These actions culminated in a sinister plan to create victims. By keeping booking platforms unaware of the change in property control after my arrest, guests arrived at the properties only to find themselves homeless. This was done intentionally to generate complaints that could be manipulated into evidence of fraud against me.

De Swardt’s ability to manipulate the justice system and orchestrate such a comprehensive campaign demonstrates a willingness to go to extraordinary lengths to avoid accountability or prosecution.

A Sinister Plan to Create Victims

A Call to Action

I never want to relive the horrors of Pollsmoor Prison or the abuses I suffered at the hands of a system weaponised against me. It is terrifying to realize that private individuals can wield such power to pursue personal vendettas for financial gain, all at the expense of South African taxpayers.

Having crossed this line, I am now determined to bring the truth into the public domain. The more widely known the facts become, the less incentive there is for these individuals to continue their campaign of retaliation against me.

This is not just my story—it is a story of systemic failure, unchecked power, and the urgent need for accountability.

Introduction to & Explanation of the Campaign

Between 2021 and 2023, I endured a targeted campaign of deceit, exploitation, and outright criminality. Having visited Cape Town regularly for over two decades, including an extended stay from 2014 to 2016, I returned in December 2020, intending to semi-retire and commute between London and Cape Town. My plan included applying for permanent residency through business or retirement avenues in 2021.

Initially, I leased a property in Camps Bay for three months, aligning with my visa. However, when COVID-19 restrictions severely curtailed international travel, particularly between South Africa and the UK, I extended the lease for a year, with the option of an additional year. During this time, the Department of Home Affairs issued automatic visa extensions, which continued well into 2022.

Anticipating the end of automatic extensions, I submitted a physical application for a visa renewal via VFS, which was approved, allowing me to remain legally in South Africa.

Transforming Properties: The Beginning

While staying in Camps Bay, discussions with the landlord naturally turned to the property’s potential as a “forever home.” Encouraged by these discussions, I began investing significantly in its improvement. Initially intended for hosting family and friends, the property proved ideal for short-term luxury rentals during the pandemic. With the landlord’s full knowledge and consent, I rented out the lower portion of the property. The demand was immediate and sustained, filling the booking calendar with ease.

The success caught the attention of an agent, GB, who introduced me to her cousin, Keith Broad. Broad had been struggling to sell his outdated and poorly maintained Llandudno property, which had failed to attract buyers due to its drab appearance and lack of investment over the past two decades.

After a meeting with Broad and his wife at my Camps Bay property, where they witnessed the transformation firsthand, they proposed leasing their property to me under terms that seemed mutually beneficial. I would invest my time, expertise, and significant financial resources to refurbish the property, bringing it up to the standard required for high-end rentals. In return, they offered a five-year lease, allowing me the time needed to recover my investment and generate profits.

A Seemingly Perfect Agreement

The agreement appeared to benefit all parties:

For the Landlords:

R90,000 monthly rent, paid quarterly in advance, along with all property-related expenses.
Five years of uninterrupted income without vacancy periods or agency fees after the first year.
A completely transformed property, increasing both its rental value and market appeal.

For Me:

A long-term lease to recover my investment and build income.
The opportunity to leverage my expertise in property design, management, and luxury rentals.

The refurbishment included design, project costing, landscaping, interior decoration, and full furnishing—transforming the property into a premium rental. My approach was modeled on private-sector infrastructure investments, where significant upfront costs yield long-term revenue streams.

The Transformations Begin

Work commenced on October 15, 2021. The transformation required considerable investment in time, money, and expertise. The results were immediate: the property became a sought-after rental, commanding premium rates. Encouraged by the results, the agent introduced me to another landlord in Hout Bay. This landlord, financially strained due to COVID-related bankruptcy, also sought a similar arrangement for their two properties.

Both properties were leased on December 1, 2021, and, as with the Llandudno property, I immediately began refurbishing them.

Trouble Begins with 16 Llandudno Road

From the outset, the landlord of 16 Llandudno Road raised concerns. Spying incidents involving the landlord’s housekeeper suggested ulterior motives. It later became clear that Broad had no intention of honoring the five-year lease. His true plan was to reclaim the property after I had completed its transformation.

The Broad family was in dire financial straits. Despite their best efforts, they could not sell the property due to its inflated asking price of R24 million—far above its market value of R18 million. To achieve their desired sale price, they needed significant improvements that they lacked the funds or expertise to execute. My refurbishment efforts provided them with an ideal solution.

By December 20, 2021, the transformation was complete. Just four days later, on December 24, Broad initiated the first of many illegal eviction attempts.

A Campaign of Legal and Illegal Tactics

Broad combined legal maneuvers with outright illegal actions to reclaim the property:

Legal Tactics: Broad filed false claims in court, alleging rent arrears, unauthorized subletting, and lack of consent for the refurbishment. Astonishingly, they misrepresented the upgrades as “malicious tenant damage.”
Illegal Tactics: These legal attempts were accompanied by near-monthly illegal eviction efforts, despite all rent and bills being paid in advance.

The Scale of the Transformation

The refurbishment of 16 Llandudno Road was transformative, resulting in:

Rent levels tripling or quadrupling.
Occupancy rates tripling.
Rental income increasing by 300% to 1,500%.

Combined, these changes represented over R100 million in additional rental income over the lease’s lifetime, alongside significant increases in the property’s capital value.

Key Figures

Pre-transformation annual rental income: R3 million.

Post-transformation annual rental income: R30 million.

Rental premium over five years: R100 million.

The Fatal Miscalculation

I naively believed this arrangement would benefit the landlords:

Guaranteed, above-market rental payments with 10% annual increases.
Peace of mind with 100% occupancy.
Significant upgrades to their properties, paid for entirely by me.

However, once the transformations were complete, greed and jealousy took over. I became a barrier to their immediate financial gains. Rather than honouring the agreement, the landlords chose to remove me and claim the premium rental and capital values for themselves.

Escalation: Recruitment and Weaponizations

By mid-2022, after multiple failed eviction attempts, Broad began recruiting other landlords to join his campaign. Together, they hired private investigator Wouter de Swardt, known for his willingness to break laws and his connections to corrupt SAPS officers.

De Swardt’s involvement exponentially escalated the campaign. Lavaging his SAPS connections, he weaponised the state’s resources against me, creating a veneer of legitimacy for their unlawful actions. This marked the beginning of a state-enabled campaign of harassment, intimidation, and defamation, all designed to destroy my livelihood and reputation while enriching themselves.

Above: On the 22nd and 24th July 2022, WDS and eight thugs hired for the purpose of forced their way into the property, to execute another illegal eviction. One of the 22nd Booking.com guests were staying for the weekend. WDS tried to convince them to leave telling them they had been caught in a scam. Telling the guests “We are not going to bring the police here. You are going to get your stuff and start running now now now. You must take your stuff and you must fuck off.” They refused. WDS returned two days later with the same eight thugs and forced their way in, assaulted and ejected the occupants, changed the locks and squatted.

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The Landlord's Conduct & Its Heavy Cost

The landlords have provided various reasons, excuses, or explanations for their conduct, none of which are true. These justifications have changed to suit the audience and the need, much like Keith Broad’s fabrications in his court submissions. For instance, there were references to rent arrears when there were none, lies about not knowing about the subrental to guests or consenting to it despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, including direct communications with the landlords. They also fundamentally misrepresented the refurbishment works as malicious tenant damage.

Once these landlords managed to create, feed, and grow the scam narrative, it became their new default excuse. Despite this, the landlords did not include the scam issue in a single legal document, in any of the extensive communications between the various parties’ attorneys, in any court applications, or in the defense of the spoliation proceedings. It was not included in any part of the August arrest or bail application.

Yet, these landlords expect people to believe that the reason they wished to take the property from the tenant was the supposed scam operation. Even though they had never referenced it in any legal arena or document throughout 2022, they only came to this newest justification late in 2022, retrospectively inserting it as the reason.

The real reason was simple and has been dealt with above: the enormous increase in the value of the properties and the rental income that resulted from my transformations of the properties. I can guarantee that if I had made no changes to the property, there would have been no moves to get rid of me. Moreover, if the rental market had remained subdued as it had been when I first leased the properties, they would have gone out of their way to ensure I continued with the leases.

I came along during COVID-19, at a time when it was extremely hard to let any property. It was considerably more difficult to let properties of this type and level of rent as the demand was almost exclusively from overseas residents. Due to the travel bans, that market had collapsed.

I rented the properties when no one else would and, rather than take advantage of that situation, I actually agreed to rents above the market value. I paid my rent in full and on time, as well as the utilities, at a time when everyone was struggling. I transformed the properties and invested my heart, soul, and savings into them.

When I say everything was taken from me, I mean EVERYTHING. The two arrests were executed to remove me, keep me detained, make me extremely vulnerable if not entirely powerless, ruin my reputation, and isolate me from any friends or support network. They also aimed to destroy my finances, ensuring I would neither have the ability to fight back nor seek redress.

Not content with taking my home and business away from me, the owners kept all of my possessions. The furnishings, rugs, mirrors, 800 thread count Egyptian cotton bedding, accessories—literally everything I had bought. All chosen by me, bought by me, and many items even made by me. They took my artwork and my sculptures.

In Fisherman’s Bend, the inventory of items comes to almost two thousand, with a value of R4 million or more. All kept as if I had been abducted by aliens rather than served three months in Pollsmoor. There are over a hundred thousand photos saved on Google Photos that clearly show the considerable number of items, the high quality, and the unique nature of many of them.

The owners had no right to keep even one item, let alone thousands of items worth so much money.

Attempts To Report Crimes & The Obstruction of Justice

The opportunism was widespread. I was arrested without warning and without reason and detained with no justifiable cause. They had effectively decapitated the operation and surgically extracted me from my home, my business, and separated me from everything I owned.

In doing so, they created a free-for-all. The arrest itself was so spectacular and over the top that I imagine everyone thought it was both an indication of the seriousness of whatever I was being arrested for and a clear sign that I would not be returning any time soon. During the two periods of imprisonment, not only did the landlords steal all of the contents of the property, my possessions, and artwork, but they also took the revenue that would have repaid my investment.

Jess, the dog trainer, stole my three dogs. Under the guise of taking them to care for them in my absence, she agreed via the attorneys to a boarding fee of R4000 for all three per month. Upon my release, she tried to charge me R75,000, making it explicitly clear that until that sum was paid, she would not return them.

My fiancé, upon hearing that I was likely to get bail after the August malicious prosecution, took my jewellery collection from the home we shared. He even went to one of my other properties where there was an industrial safe, lied to the housekeeper by saying I had sent him to collect the jewellery, and promptly emptied the safe. He then jumped on a flight to Paris and fled with my entire jewellery collection valued at approximately R10,000,000.

While I was in Pollsmoor the second time, a friend who had also been a tenant and had heard of the arrest and remand went to my London home, presumably broke in, and cleared the entire contents of my home, including a very valuable art collection.

These two unrelated incidents have two things in common. First, an astonishing opportunism to take advantage of someone at their most vulnerable, believing initially that I might not be coming back for some time. Second, their connection to the consortium’s campaign.

The first point is self-explanatory. The second point relates to the fact that both individuals called me after I was released on the first occasion, making it very clear that should I come after them or report the theft, they would join with Mr de Swardt, Paula, and SAPS, and assist them by laying entirely false charges. This would provide Mr de Swardt, Serge Stevens, SAPS, and the consortium with a silver bullet—charges that were genuinely unrelated to that grouping or their many attempts to fabricate or manipulate such charges.

Again, after my release the second time, I received two near-identical calls, both referencing Paula and Mr de Swardt by name. The simple fact that they knew the power and impact their laying charges would have, regardless of the fact they would be false, shows there was communication between them. It is very likely that Mr de Swardt, Paula, etc., did try to encourage them to do just that. Having tried to report the theft at Hout Bay and been turned away and having had the housekeeper try to do the same and not just turned away but told that any docket that came to Hout Bay would be ignored, I am denied any meaningful way to report the crimes and have them investigated.

I am absolutely confident that regardless of where I report these or other crimes, as the jurisdiction falls under that of Hout Bay, as the crimes occurred in Llandudno, the docket will be sent there. Once there, it will be ignored, or worse, the information will be used in some way to prejudice my situation further. The result of the involvement of SAPS is that at present, I have no effective way of reporting the many crimes that took place and certainly no way of ensuring an investigation commensurate with the volume and seriousness of the crimes is undertaken and done thoroughly.

The Impact of Corrupt Police Officers and the Inequity of the Situation.

The involvement of corrupt police officers has severely impacted my ability to report real crimes and seek justice. The inequity of the situation is glaring. While I am unable to report genuine crimes, those who have wronged me use the threat of reporting fabricated crimes to prevent me from seeking redress. This creates a vicious cycle where the perpetrators of the crimes are emboldened, knowing that the corrupt officers will protect them and obstruct any attempts I make to hold them accountable.

The corrupt officers’ actions compound the damage already done. Not only have I lost my home, business, and possessions, but I am also denied the basic right to report these crimes and have them investigated. This lack of recourse leaves me vulnerable and isolated, with no means to fight back or seek justice.

The inequity is further highlighted by the fact that the perpetrators can manipulate the system to their advantage, using false charges as a weapon against me. This not only undermines my credibility but also diverts attention away from their own criminal actions. The corrupt officers’ complicity in this scheme ensures that the real crimes go unpunished, while I am left to deal with the fallout of their actions.

In summary, the combination of opportunistic thefts, the inability to report real crimes, and the use of threats to stop the reporting of real crimes, all facilitated by corrupt police officers, has created an environment of profound injustice. This situation not only compounds the damage already done but also perpetuates a cycle of victimization and impunity.