A construction contractor has alleged that tech businessman David Phume owes him over R300 000 for an unpaid student accommodation renovation project dating back to 2018.
After years of trying to recoup his investment in a Melville property renovated through a partnership with Afrobotics founder Phume, contractor Kingdom Ndlovu told The Star that he believed his only chance of getting his money back was through the media.
According to Ndlovu, the legal route and other methods have not yielded the desired results, which was why after six years, he has resorted to seeking the help of the media.
The Star has seen various email conversations between Ndlovu, Phume and an investor who was called in to rescue the project which was to be sold at R3 million.
In it, Ndlovu seeks extra funds from Bronwen Loubser, an attorney and conveyancer, after spending more than R300 000 of his own money renovating the property with the intention to sell it within six months.
“David wanted to sell the house but did not have the time or the wish to use his resources to renovate it. I then came in and offered to get the house to the marketable standard and then we sell it. David wants to earn R2 million from the sale of the house and I decided to get the house to a standard where we can sell it for R3 million ... I am at a point where I wish to complete the project with urgency hence I have acquired an investor,” Ndlovu writes to Loubser.
Ndlovu said Phume threatened him when he tried to get the media involved, adding that he had suffered trauma and stress following the ordeal and wanted to heal first before pursuing the matter further.
He said after years of trying to recover his energy, he has decided to pursue the matter once again.
“There are other victims which have previously come out following an online expose by another victim of his scams.
“He has since paid this victim who was able to get other victims to come out. I feel the only chance I have is the media, because it would seem he only pays his victims back once they have involved the media. I am hoping for the same result because clearly this is his modus operandi,” Ndlovu said.
He alleges that once the renovations were done, instead of selling the property as per their agreement, Phume refused to sign the offer to purchase and instead, rented out the property and started collecting rent without paying him the agreed amount which would have been a million should the property sell at R 3million.
“So he was supposed to get the first R2m and I must get the balance. I got a buyer for R3.2 so he owes me R1.2 as we had an agreement that I would renovate the house with my own money with the plan that at completion, we would sell the house, and he would keep the first R2 million and I would keep the balance.
“When I finished converting his 4-bedroom house into a 15-bed student accommodation and got a buyer with an offer to purchase after marketing it at R3.2 million, he refused to sign the OTP and sell the house but instead put tenants and started collecting rent. To this day, he hasn’t paid me a cent but has been collecting rent for over five years from my work,” Ndlovu alleges.
Responding on behalf of Phume, Neo Motlhala told The Star that Phume denied the allegations levelled against him.
“David Phume denies and rejects claims made by Mr Kingdom Ndlovu that he owes him for work performed by Ndlovu. The claims are false, defamatory, malicious and part of an extortionist plan. As such, at this point Phume will not deal with each of the allegations as this is a legal matter. Phume has instituted legal action against Ndlovu for extortion,“ said Motlhala.
Another disgruntled victim of Phume is Lee-Roy Jason, who was forced to write an open letter to the then-minister of sports, arts and culture, Nathi Mthethwa, claiming about Phume over unpaid photographic services rendered.
Speaking to The Star, Jason said: “I too am a victim of David Phume and it was a horrible experience dealing with him.”
The Star