Listen here.In their latest chat, Chris Steyn and Juanita du Preez of Action Society talk about the video of the tenderpreneur threatening to kill women in the powder room of a Sandton restaurant after they turned down his advances. Transport Minister Barbara Creasy has now ordered an investigation into his tenders. Infrastructure Minister Dean McPherson has ordered an investigation into his ratings. And Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia is asking Home Affairs to have a look at his status in South Africa as he is from an SADC country. And he will appear in court on October 1. They also give viewers an update on the murders of 9 women in Ekurhuleni where Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi told fearful residents not to get emotional; the belated sacking of suspended EMPD Chief Julius Mkhwanazi following five arrests since April; and Tembisa Hospital tender don Hangwani Maumela being hit with a R1,9 billion tax bill while still roaming free. Meanwhile, the latest crime statistics show that 72 women were reported raped every day the past two months..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..Edited transcript of the interview.Chris Steyn (00:01.164)The South African tender empire of a man has been blown wide open after he threatened to kill women in the powder room of a Sandton restaurant after they turned down his advances. With me is Juanita du Preez of Action Society. Welcome Unita.Juanita du Preez (00:23.899)Good morning, Chris.Chris Steyn (00:25.654)I take it you've watched the video.Juanita du Preez (00:28.485)I've watched the video. It's not unbelievable because I've seen things like this happen, but it's just the audacity and the entitlement of certain men to think that and and when he says I'm wealthy, he thinks because he's got money people need to bend in his way and if they're not, then then he's gonna come and tell them he's gonna shoot them. And he even said, I'm serious. It wasn't just something he was saying; he was really considering it…I'm not saying he was going to do it, he was probably drunk. I think he was from the video, but having the thought in your mind, having it come out of your mouth means it is something that you often say and that that is the way you think that other people, women, people who are in your eyes lesser than you should always do what you want. And that is what GBV is to me: it is abusing your power because you're the stronger one or wealthier one and then trying to get your way. It's unacceptable. I saw the next day he sent out an email to say or a notification to say it was regrettable and he's so sorry and so on. If it was not caught on video and it was not spread on the viral net, then he would not have apologised. Because that's just how he rolls.Chris Steyn (02:17.057)And the way he told those women that he would get away with it; he was one hundred percent confident that he could kill women and walk free.Juanita du Preez (02:29.56)Yeah, he knows he's got power. He and then we hear that he's got some nice contracts with Sanral, well through, through, through, but working for Sanrall. and I'm happy that they acted immediately. But then we have to think, is this guy like this in the business world as well? Does he know he gets away because he's got more money? Is that just the way he acts? So it's not just the GBV part, that's the part I'm angry with, but I think we're gonna find something more - and there are investigations going on now, so yeah, but he's not the only guy who does this and thinks he can get off because he is a manChris Steyn (03:18.125)Transport Minister Barbara Creasy has ordered an investigation into his tenders. Infrastructure Minister Dean McPherson has ordered an investigation into his ratings. And Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia is asking Home Affairs to have a look at his status in South Africa. And by the way, Steyn City has apparently terminated his lease.Juanita du Preez (03:47.749)Yeah, I saw that and I know it is not guilty, unproven until guilty, but there's video evidence. So in my eyes you're pretty guilty and good that all of this is happening because it should not be the accepted norm. And good for the women who recorded this and put it on the Internet to show how this guy behaved himself. People should be aware of when people act like this and they should face the consequences.Chris Steyn (04:20.652)And according to a statement, his company has severed ties with him. But since he is the executive chairman and the director, did he fire himself? Is it just optics?Juanita du Preez (04:28.304)I was just also wondering about that. Is he gonna be like behind the scenes now and just not a public face for it because I did see he's the main guy of the company. So I don't know exactly how that is going to work.Chris Steyn (04:44.182)Mm he is now going to appear in court, but he’s out - not even on bail, he's free.Juanita du Preez (04:51.564)Mm. Yeah, well that's what we see. We see people get off or or just the notification that you should show up at this date. Mm we have a couple of cases where it's on hold now because guess what? The guy never showed up. What a big surprise. It happens and the charge against him is intimidation. But it seems like in South Africa bail is too easily given. We we see in attempted rape, attempted murder, rape, alleged cases they get bail for something like R500 and that's unbelievable. This guy is a danger until proven not a danger. I think we should take that view because we cannot afford to not do this. And and I don't always want to say where there's smoke there's fire because there are a lot of people who abuse the system and make a little fire or make a little smoke where there is no fire. But I would rather play it on the safe side and keep somebody incarcerated so they don't go and act like: You wanted to lay a charge against me. Now you'll see. You know? Be on the safe side rather.Chris Steyn (06:30.136)But apparently a companion of his went to the women afterwards to tell them that he was very connected.Juanita du Preez (06:38.744)Wow. And and that is exactly the one covering for the other one. Why don't they just say, I apologise for my colleague, my friend. It is not what I agree with. We will have a word with him, he was drunk or whatever the reason was, we will not leave it here, we will have a talk with him. Stand up. Don't don'tChris Steyn (07:02.638)Apparently he did apologize on behalf of the guy, but then also warned them that this guy was really connected and that they should not take it further.Juanita du Preez (07:13.634)Yeah, well now he's in the public spotlight so he can't really do anything because then the fingers are gonna be directly pointed at him.Chris Steyn (07:22.188)Over to Ekurhuleni. The last time we spoke, six bodies had been found. Now we are on nine. A tenth body was found last night, but not in Ekhurulemni, next to a dam in Soweto, wrapped in a duvet. Now three people have been arrested in connection with the Dawn Park murder; apparently that one might not be related to the others.Juanita du Preez (07:48.025)I remember I said I don't think it's just one person acting…it's because the light is now showing, now we are seeing all of these bodies appear. It's not as if it's just suddenly happening, it's happening every single day. We're just now finding the bodies. When the Dawn Park one was found because that is exactly where the Gaby and Ndaba case was. And just about two weeks or a month before these bodies were found, there was another one found in Dawn Park in an area close to where Gaby used to live, the houses, because I speak to the family and I sent it to them and I said, Did you see this? And they said, That's the houses we pointed out. And I have to say the rumours that are going around on the ground in Ekurhuleni is that there's some kind of human trafficking going on. I don't know, I haven't been able to establish that. Obviously, it's tight-lipped about something like that, but that is the rumour that is going around. And it could be because of human trafficking..you think it's somebody abducted and sold and taken away for sexual work but it's not necessarily that; it can be for it can be very short term as well. An unwilling woman is drugged and taken away or not drugged just taken away… something happens to her and then she's discarded because she's not necessary anymore. It is something and I do hope that the police are looking into that option. Like I said, I've heard that many, many times and for years now from that area. So yeah, but just coming back to the tenth woman found now in Soweto, I read this morning on, I think it's Goodthings Guy, and he said like I said, it's just bodies being found. It's not…Juanita du Preez (10:12.746)…necessarily all connected. It's just that the light is shining on it now. But why did it have to take so many women for the light to be finally switched on? And there are arrests, yes, but not in all of them and some of them are not even identified yet. But I understand it's because they're struggling to get the next of kin. …some of the bodies have been in decomposition for a long time, so it's not a recent thing that happened. There are still lots of bodies that's going to turn up all over this country.Chris Steyn (10:52.344)Seven of the nine have now been identified. Absolutely what you have just said, as we are speaking, there are bodies all over the country that still have to be discovered.Juanita du Preez (11:04.824)Yeah, it's really bad. And the sad thing is that it's bodies that's turning up. I do hope that this also opens the eyes of the police when a person is reported missing and there is no forty-eight, twenty-four hour rule. It is not a rule, you can open a missing person's case immediately. I hope that their eyes and their ears are open now and they listen and they act when a missing person's report is opened because this is what happened with Gaby Ndaba. They went and said maybe she's out with her boyfriend and they left it. If they had acted immediately, Gaby would have been here still. And the same thing goes for protection orders. Why on earth do we have protection orders? You spend your time going in fear to the police station, they send you to the court, you get the protection order. When they do not listen to the protection order, the police do nothing. So I do hope the police are listening now and acting when a person opens a protection order because they do it for a reason, because they fear for their lives. Please listen when we speak.Chris Steyn (12:29.902)Still in Ekhurhulenii suspended Metro Police Chief Julius Mkwhwanazi has finally been fired. After five arrests since April. He was arrested in installments.Juanita du Preez (12:46.801)Yeah, it was a pay-off plan. but finally, yes, thank you. It's just again, why must it take so long? If there's overwhelming evidence, everybody knows. Of course, he's gonna say it wasn't me. All criminals say it wasn't them, but everybody knows it is them. Why did it take this long? But now let's hope the arrest process doesn't take years and years and years. Because we know this guy is connected and he can put a pause on it, but I hope he's not as connected as he was. But again he's got information on people so maybe they will assist him. Let's hope it doesn't work.Chris Steyn (13:39.134)About connected people still, sadly in Ekurhuleni, Tembisa Hospital tender don Hangwani Maumela has been hit with a R1,9 billion tax bill, but he has still not been arrested.Juanita du Preez (14:23.981)Is he going to pay that? If he's not even arrested, then it's gone. Face it, it's gone. The money is gone. The people who needed that in the hospitals are going to have to go without it, like they have been going without it. It's not gonna be paid back.And maybe if we see now it only took five arrest attempts for Mkhwanazi, then maybe we're now on phase one and then we will see an arrest maybe in a couple of months time.Chris Steyn (14:58.51)Well he certainly had time to dispose of the loot, or at least some of it, You know, what has not been forfeited to the Asset Forfeiture Unit.Juanita du Preez (15:06.937)Yeah well well he spent a lot of it because we did see the life of luxury he was leading. But yeah the money's gone. He knew it was coming, he would have made plans. It's gone.Chris Steyn (15:24.77)Let's go to the latest crime statistics on rape. Six five nine six reported rapes in the past three months, so that is seventy two a day, three every hour. A rape every twenty minutes.Juanita du Preez (15:42.512)Yeah. We keep tabs on this and we look at the statistics every time when they release it on the Friday morning we're always like, why on a Friday? But we keep our eyes on it and it's so bad to know because now we are saying with the Ekurhuleni things going on... It's so terrible…but we've been seeing it on the stats all this time and we've been shouting about it. We're not the only people who've been shouting, everybody's been shouting about it. I just want to say I am very glad to see that the UN has taken note of the situation happening here. We are also planning to write to the UN about this. but we shouldn't just stay with the writing. We should force the government to get their stuff in a row and to actually practically do something about this. Yes, now we have that investigation, but what about all of these other people, these women who were raped, attempted murders, who were murdered? Where are you having the same urgency for these ladies that we have now because the spotlight is on them? I don't think so because we see how these cases are handled, unfortunately.Chris Steyn (17:17.154)Lastly, I just want to circle back to Ekurhuleni. Residents are obviously outraged and then Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has the cheek to tell them not to get emotional.Juanita du Preez (17:31.108)It's almost like he said, just go shower in a hotel. Do you expect anything less from him? Lesufi is so out of touch with what is going on. He's only got his blinkers on and and seeing what he wants to go where he wants to go and he's not gonna let anything stand in his way. But to say don't be so emotional about it…this guy should not be in any leadership position because it's gonna be even worse if he goes higher up. It is really going to be worse. If a guy says when there's nine women's bodies found and he says don't be so emotional because people are afraid then, then it's not somebody I would want to lead anything. Not at all.Chris Steyn (18:33.742)Indeed. Thank you. That was Juanita du Preez, the national spokesperson for Action Society, speaking to BizNews, I'm Chris Steyn. Thank you.Juanita du Preez (18:44.955)Thanks, Chris.