- Athletics South Africa manager Terence Magogodela used the lottery grant to pay for his lawyer and transfer costs for the house he bought.
- He said it was a “loan” from Jabulani Sibanda, the president of an IT company.
- However, Mr Magogodera repaid the money to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which is tasked with recovering funds lost to corruption.
- However, Magogodera could still face criminal charges. The SIU forwarded documents relating to the R15-million shady subsidy involving him and several others to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and recommended criminal prosecution.
- But Mr Magogudera's lawyer said his client was “cooperating fully with the NPA and looks forward to becoming a witness for the state”.
A South African Athletics Association (ASA) executive has been told he could still face prosecution even after repaying nearly R400,000 he used for personal expenses from a suspicious multi-million rand Lottery grant. Up reported.
ASA acting chief executive Terence Magogodela has denied an allegedly corrupt R15-million lottery grant to Inkaba Yokulinda, a non-profit organization (NPO) intended to oversee and manage a project to build an athletics stadium in the Kimberley. played an important role in.
Mr Magogodela, who was ASA's chief financial officer at the time, was listed as Inkaba-Yokulinda's project coordinator on the grant application submitted to the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), even though he was an ASA employee. was.
Inkaba Yokulinda paid R10 million of the R15 million grant to Unicus Solu(IT)ons (Pty) Ltd, owned by Jabu Sibanda. Unicus Solu(IT)ons (Pty) Ltd was to be responsible for developing the land truck.
But rather than use the money for the truck, Sibanda spent millions on things unrelated to the project, such as resolving personal debts.
Inkaba Yokulinda's application included a letter supporting the project purportedly signed by ASA President Alec Skosana. However, ASA spokesperson Sifiso Cele previously told GroundUp that Mr Skosana refused to sign a letter supporting the project, saying the request “does not comply with our relevant policies”.
Funds from the grant were also used to cover legal and relocation obligations for the home Mr Magogodera purchased in the upmarket Centurion housing estate.
Mr Magogodera repaid approximately R400,000 to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which announced on April 25 that it would apply for a court order to lift the Special Court's security order against his home.
“However, this settlement agreement does not constitute a complete and final settlement between the parties,” the SIU said. “The SIU remains entitled to join Mr. Magogodera in any future proceedings and seek appropriate relief against him.”
The overland track was finally completed by Yinkaba Yokulinda, who took over management of the project after the NLC allocated a further R4.27 million in 2019.
Magogodera’s R400 000 “loan”
Ms Magogodela claimed that the R400 000 was a “loan” from Jabu Sibanda of Unix and that she was repaying it. He initially opposed the preservation order. In his affidavit, he denied that he had “obtained an unfair advantage” or engaged in any “wrongdoing.”
However, he subsequently entered into an agreement with the SIU to repay the money. The SIU is tasked with recovering corrupt funds.
A comprehensive document detailing the SIU case against Magogodera was sent anonymously to the ASA. GroundUp was also sent this document by an identified source.
The document examined the terms of the “loan” from Sibanda, which stated that Magogodera had to pay interest at the rate of 9% per annum from March 1, 2018 until repaid. However, the repayment will start from 1 September 2018 and the monthly installments will be R2,500. Also, for each installment he will be charged a 10% “collection fee”.
“As Mr. Magogodera and Mr. Sibanda allege, the AoD (acknowledgment of debt) and its payment terms are not standard independent commercial terms,” the document said. “Ignoring the accumulated interest and assuming that a 10% ‘collection fee’ is paid separately, it would take until December 2031 for Mr Magogodera to repay just the principal.”
The SIU said in a statement that Mr Magogodera initially failed to comply with a separate settlement agreement with the SIU to repay R388,733, which included court costs, curatorial fees and “unjust enrichment”. Ta.
The SIU then applied to the Special Tribunal to freeze his Gauteng home, which was granted in February 2022.
Mr Magogodera's lawyer, Deb Maharaj, said Mr Magogodera had not complied with the settlement agreement with the SIU to repay the “loan” money, but had “simply asked for more time to raise the final instalment.” ” was denied.
“There was indeed a legitimate loan from Mr. Sibanda, but the loan was not repaid in full,” Maharaj said. “When Mr Magogodera learned the actual source from which the loan amount was disbursed, he felt it was his moral obligation to repay the full amount to SIU.”
There is currently a legal dispute between Mr Magogodera and Mr Sibanda over the repayment of the outstanding 'loan' amount, which has been referred to arbitration and it is “premature to comment on that”, Mr Maharaj said.
Magogodera is not out of danger.
A person with direct knowledge of the investigation said the SIU's document on Inkaba Yokulinda was sent to the NPA “a long time ago” with recommendations for “criminal prosecution” of those involved.
This is one of at least 30 lottery-related corruption cases in the National Police Agency's jurisdiction awaiting a decision on whether to prosecute.
“I would be very surprised if Mr Magogodera is indicted as he is fully cooperating with the NPA and expects to be a state witness,” Maharaj said.
The official also revealed that the SIU had received a formal request from lawyers representing the ASA for details of Mr Magogodera's involvement in the grant. Sources said it was believed the ASA had planned to carry out a formal disciplinary investigation, but it was unclear whether it actually took place.
Mr Maharaj denied that ASA's lawyers had requested copies of the documents, saying they were “not entitled to do so, especially as no criminal charges are pending against Mr Magogodera”.
He also said Mr Magogodera was not subject to a disciplinary investigation “as the loan was a personal matter that the ASA did not involve”.
ASA spokesperson Sifiso Cele did not respond to questions about whether Mr Magogodera had been subject to a disciplinary investigation and, if so, the outcome.
Jabu Sibanda splurge
The Kimberley land truck project was to be managed by Jabu Sibanda's Unicus Solutions, which had no experience in building land trucks.
Immediately after paying the grant to the non-profit organization Inkaba Yokulinda, the NLC then paid R10 million to Unicus on Magogodera's instructions, said the group's director, Buyisiwe Khoza.
According to a letter from Mr Sibanda to Mr Khoza, this first payment was intended to cover, among other things, “preliminary design, specifications and bills of quantities, quality control and project management”.
Khoza said that when he first spoke to Sibanda, Sibanda introduced himself as the provincial head of the NLC in Mpumalanga.
“Sibanda informed me that [former] With Charlotte Mampane, Chief Executive Officer of NLC. [former] Mr. Philemon Letwaba, Chief Operating Officer of NLC and [ex NLC board] chairman [Alfred Nevhutanda] I sent him to contact me to help build overland tracks in the North West, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape. ”
money inflow, money outflow
By the time R10 million was deposited into Unicus' account on March 12, 2018, the balance was just R1,925.
Instead of the money used to build the line, millions of dollars were paid for things unrelated to the grant. This includes R2.5 million to the lawyer responsible for the purchase of former NLC board chairman Alfred Nebutanda's Pretoria mansion, according to a statement from Unicus Bank.
Mr Sibanda also repaid the R2.2 million he owed to financial services company Clippers. He has R1.87 million in his Unicus Standard bank account. R2.5 million to “Ncasa”. He paid R806,550 to the software company. R265,840 to two different vehicle sales and repair companies. (The special court froze several vehicles belonging to Sibanda.)
Being Human, a health and 'detox' spa in Westville, Durban, was also paid R58,500 for one week's treatment for him and his two sons.
By April 7, only R1.78 million remained in the account, with no other payments other than a R10 million payment from Inkaba Yokulinda.
Cancellation of contract
Inkaba Yokulinda director Buyisiwe Khoza previously told GroundUp that he contacted the NLC after Sibanda told him the funds were “done” and he realized there was a problem. Both Mr. Khoza and Mr. Yinkaba Yokulinda were included in the Special Court Preservation Order.
In July 2018, she visited the NLC office in Pretoria and met with Letwaba, then the chief operating officer, and Tshietsi Maserwa, the organization's legal director at the time, to complain about Unicus.
“They told me they were withdrawing that funding. In the same month, I terminated the contract with Mr Sibanda and asked him to repay the R10 million paid in development costs in full.”
Despite written promises to repay the money, Sibanda failed to do so, Khoza said. “He regrets not opening the case until he finally reports.” [to the NLC]. I was scared and was advised that my life was in danger,” Khoza said.
NLC's response was to award Inkava a further R4.3 million on 25 September 2019 to complete the project it had already paid for.
Inkaba hired a new contractor to lay the lines, using mostly local labor. They also renovated and painted the stadium, renovated changing rooms, and repaired broken and leaking taps and toilets, even though they were not part of the funded project.
Construction began in October 2019, but was delayed due to heavy rain and was not completed until February 2020. The cost was just over half of the R10 million the NLC had already paid for the track alone.
Khoza says her life changed forever when she started asking questions about the missing R10 million. She said she started receiving threats after being visited by “fake police officers” asking questions about the project and that she felt “threatened.”
In his affidavit opposing the preservation order against himself and Unix, Sibanda raised several technical issues, including the claim that the SIU establishment affidavit against him was based on “hearsay” . He also claimed that the SIU had failed to prove that the frozen assets were “proceeds of illegal activity”.
Sibanda did not respond to questions sent via WhatsApp or email.
