More assets have been frozen in an ongoing investigation into large-scale corruption at the National Lotteries Commission. File photo
Two luxury homes, a property in a luxury residential area, a chicken farm and a Hilux SUV, all allegedly purchased with funds misappropriated from lottery grants, have been frozen by a preservation order issued by the High Court in Pretoria.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) received the order following an ex parte (no other parties present) hearing before Judge Aubrey Ledwaba of the Gauteng High Court on 24 July 2024. It was made public for the first time on Wednesday.
The SIU, which has no prosecuting powers and is only tasked with recovering state funds misappropriated through corruption, has handed over investigative records relating to all these grants, and many others, to the Hawks for investigation.
But while the SIU investigation has frozen millions of dollars in misappropriated property, cars and other assets, there has been growing frustration over the slow pace of investigations by the South African Police and Hawks into the lottery looting, and the National Prosecuting Authority's prosecution of those involved.
So far only one person has been charged in connection with the misappropriation of lottery funds, with two men appearing in court.
The latest orders have been frozen:
- A luxury home in Ekurhuleni co-owned by Gwezeni Moodie Mzielwana and Phindile Garish Mzielwana.
- The property is located in Sable Hills, Pretoria, and is registered to the Malwandla Siweya Family Trust, headed by trustee Malwandla Solly Siweya.
- The Midvaal poultry farm was registered in the name of Dimakatso Pheto, sister of actor Terry Pheto, who plays Tsotsi.
- A house in Louis Trichardt registered in the name of Colin Mkondereli Chishimba.
- The Toyota Hilux was registered to Preludon Construction, represented by Priti Shandukani.
Shady drilling subsidies
Mzielwana's house was bought using funds from a multi-million rand grant aimed at installing 200 borewells in drought-hit villages across South Africa.
His newly founded non-profit organisation, Chikova Graduate Academy, received a R55 million grant from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) to install borewells in 2016. Before the NLC money was deposited, Chikova had just R4,673 in his bank account.
The Konani Pfunzo Comprehensive Learning Centre in Limpopo, a school with just 46 students, acted as the intermediary for the funds. The grant application was signed by Moodie Muzielwana and co-signed by Collin Chishimba, who has been implicated in several other fraudulent lottery grants.
Once the lottery money landed, Chikova paid two deposits of R4.8 million and R4.5 million to Letac, a company associated with former NLC chief operating officer Philemon Letwaba. GroundUp reported that Letac then paid R1 million to a dealer to buy a Rolls-Royce for former lottery chairman Alfred Neftanda.
SkX Protiviti, the auditing firm commissioned by the NLC to investigate the grants, said it was unable to understand how the money was being spent because “Mr Konani and Ms Chikova failed to provide bank statements or financial records”.
“The beneficiaries and their contractors have indicated they are not willing to consult with us,” SkX said in the report, adding that no background checks or verification of documents were carried out by the NLC.
When SkX investigators visited the drilling sites, they were unable to locate eight of the drilling sites using coordinates provided by the NLC. Six of the drilling sites did not have pumps installed and were “therefore not accessible to the public,” while two were located on private property. The coordinates for one drilling site “indicate it is located within a municipal building,” while the other was on a farm and had been excavated more than a decade before the NLC project.
Solly Siweya
The freezing of Siweya's house was linked to a R30 million grant being awarded to the South African Sports Association for the Intellectually Disabled (SASA-II), a sports organisation for people with intellectual disabilities, to host the Bloemfontein event. Shortly after the funds arrived, SASA-II transferred R3.5 million in two instalments to the Ironbridge travel agency, which has links to Philemon Letwaba.
Ironbridge transferred R2 million to Njuku Trading, of which Siweya is one of the directors, who then transferred the money to another account and paid R350,000 to a transfer lawyer in charge of the sale of a property registered to the Malwandla Siweya Family Trust in Sable Hills, Pretoria.
GroundUp has also reported on other corrupt lottery grants involving Siweya, including an R80 million grant that was purportedly intended to support Durban's (failed) attempt to host the Commonwealth Games.
He also acted as intermediary in the purchase of a house in Bryanston by Upbrand Properties, a company with close links to Letwaba and his brother Joe. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and his wife initially made a R5.6-million cash offer for the house but then withdrew it. Upbrand then made a similar cash offer and purchased the house. The minister lived in the house for a short time before suddenly leaving.
Mbalula and Letwaba were once good friends but then fell out, and when the protection order was challenged, Letwaba's wife and brother alleged in affidavits that the R3 million paid for the Bryanston house was a loan to Mbalula.
Poultry Farm
Part of a R23.7 million grant given to Nunovation Africa Foundation to build a “boxing arena” in Storms River was used to buy a chicken farm at Midvaal Farm for “Tsotsi” actor Moiteli “Terry” Pheto's sister, Dimakatso Terry. Nunovation had no track record of construction.
Mr Pheto's Bryanston mansion, bought with lottery funds, was frozen by the SIU and subsequently sold in March last year. An offer to buy the farm for R850,000 was signed by former NLC chairman Alfred Neftanda.
Lottery winning house
The Louis Trichardt house, frozen by a preservation order, is one of several homes owned by Collins Chishimba and his wife, Hulufelo Promise Kalivhe, that are subject to preservation orders.
The SIU believes Chishimba is part of a “syndicate that has been continuously defrauding the NLC” through various non-profit organisations.
The SIU said he was part of a group that between 2016 and 2019 embezzled hundreds of millions of rand from lottery grants that were meant to help poor people and communities.
Hilux
Preeti Shandukani, whose Hilux DC 2.4GD-6 was frozen, is married to Mashudu Shandukani, whose Mushandukani Foundation and construction company Mushandukani Holdings have been identified by the SIU as being used to launder tens of millions of rands misappropriated from lottery grants. The couple's luxury home and lifestyle have been featured on Top Billing.
This article was first published on GroundUp.
