The glitz and glamour of the upcoming Vodacom Durban July could be marred by protesters on Saturday amid ongoing anger related to Markus Jooste and the Steinhoff scandal.
Jooste, the disgraced former Steinhoff International Holdings CEO, is the target of the Public Services’ Association (PSA), which believes horses from his stable will be taking part in the annual race – despite organisers denying this.
Described as “Africa’s greatest horse-racing event”, the Durban July is attended by not only racehorse bosses and enthusiasts, but also the who’s who of the entertainment world – but this year it may be shaken up by the association.
It has threatened a major protest if the organisers allow horses owned by Mayfair Speculators, which the union says is owned by Steinhoff, to participate in any races.
The union – which has more than 240,000 members – has demanded that the horses be pulled from the race.
Even though main event sponsor Vodacom and the National Horseracing Authority (NHRA) have both denied that Mayfair Speculators horses would be taking part in the Durban July, the association said it believed otherwise.It accused Jooste of having been “instrumental in the loss of billions from public servants’ pension [funds] invested in Steinhoff International Holding via the Public Investment Corporation on behalf of the Government Employees’ Pension Fund”.
PSA general manager Ivan Fredericks said he had written to Vodacom and the authority to advise them they had a responsibility to ensure that any horses linked to Jooste not be allowed to participate.
“Vodacom, as an international brand, has a responsibility to society not to be associated or perceived to be purporting the [alleged] unethical behaviour that Mr Jooste is known for,” Fredericks said.
Vodacom and the authority denied the allegations.
NHRA CEO Lyndon Barends said Fredericks’s information was not correct.
“I confirm that Mr Markus Jooste does not hold any colours with the National Horseracing Authority and therefore has no horses registered in his name,” he said.
“I also confirm there are no horses participating in the Vodacom Durban July of Mayfair Speculators.”
Graeme Anderson, the executive head in the office of Vodacom’s CEO, said: “We have liaised with Gold Circle, which owns the event, and they have given us their assurance that there are no horses owned by Mr Jooste that will be participating in any race on race day, on Saturday.”
The responses were rejected by the association.
“Their responses are vague,” its deputy general manager, Tahir Maepa, said.
“Just because Mayfair’s horses will not be running in the colours of the company or those of Jooste doesn’t mean they will not potentially be running in someone else’s colours.”
Horseracing journalist Robyn Louw said a “colour” in horse-racing was a form of identity for the horse.
“It’s the silks a horse wears which represents its owner or owners,” she said.
Fredericks said: “Failure by these parties to ensure that the [Mayfair Speculators] horses are prevented from participating will result in PSA protest action at the race.
“People need to understand that Mr Jooste cannot be allowed to continue making millions while his actions have had a devastating effect on thousands of people’s pension investments.”
Jooste’s racing manager, Derek Brugman, did not respond to several requests for comment.