‘Rent-a-crowd’: Mel and Peet Viljoen pay ‘supporters’ outside court?
· The South African
Mel and Peet Viljoen are accused of hiring a group of supporters calling for his release whilst he appeared in court on 400 criminal charges relating to a R27 property fraud scandal.
The disbarred lawyer made his formal bail application at the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Pretoria.
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In recent months, the Viljoens have made headlines for several other offences, including allegedly shoplifting in the US, being detained after overstaying their visitor visas, posting hate-speech comments on their social media platforms, and ongoing accusations of involvement in the Tammy Taylor Nails franchise fraud.
They’ve also had two of their BackaBuddy crowdfunding campaigns shut down.
DID MEL AND PEET VILJOEN HIRE GROUP OF SUPPORTERS?
In pics and clips captured by the media and onlookers, a group of women was seen outside the court holding placards expressing public support for Peet Viljoen.
The women wore hats, hoodies and face masks, concealing their identities.
Some of the placards included messages that read:
“Thank you, Peet, for believing in us”
“Peet Viljoen deserves freedom and due process”
“Peet Viljoen created more than 1000 jobs for black women”
Happening Now 🚨
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) July 8, 2026
Supporters of disbarred lawyer Peet Viljoen have gathered outside the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria, where he is appearing for his bail application, holding placards that read “PEET VILJOEN DESERVES FREEDOM AND DUE PROCESS! FREE PEET!”, “PEET… pic.twitter.com/8pAQvIrSbS
eNCA’s Slilindelo Sabato labelled the group as a “rent-a-crowd” gimmick. Social commentator Bianca van Wyk claimed that the Viljoens had taken advantage of the “desperation and unemployment in this country”.
Van Wyk added that the women had been advised not to engage with the public.
[WATCH] Seems #MelViljoen has hired a rent-a-crowd to demonstrate outside court in support of #PeetViljoen. A woman who says she is a friend of Mel's won't comment but says these ladies work for Mel.#eNCA pic.twitter.com/4TFbVDJPYO
— Silindelo Sebata (@Sli_Masikane) July 8, 2026
Peet Viljoen’s Bail Application: Outside the Commercial Crimes Court today
— Bianca van Wyk (@BiancavanWyk16) July 8, 2026
If I didn’t know about desperation and unemployment in this country, I would lose my shit 😅
Peet Viljoen’s Tammy Taylor staff weren’t even registered for UIF. What 1000 jobs? The salons that closed… pic.twitter.com/oasxgHp8ys
BID FOR PUBLIC DONATIONS BACKFIRE
Meanwhile, Mel Viljoen’s plans to raise public donations to cover Peet Viljoen’s legal fees have been shut down in not one, but two BackaBuddy campaigns.
Her crowdfunding campaign, called “Defence Fund Peet”, aimed to raise R400 000 to supposedly cover the disbarred attorney’s legal fees.
In a statement to The South African, BackaBuddy confirmed that it had shut down all campaigns linked to the Viljoens.
The crowdfunding organisation stated that this was due to an internal review, in line with their terms and conditions and platform standards.