The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has secured a preservation order freezing two properties after an investigation uncovered that millions in National Lotteries Commission (NLC) funds intended for a KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) agricultural project were instead diverted for personal gain.
The preservation order, granted by the Special Tribunal, targets properties in The Orchards and Soshanguve in Tshwane, both linked to the Malusi We Sizwe Non-Profit Company (NPC).
The company received R13 million from the NLC in November 2018 for an agricultural project in the Zululand District Municipality.
That project was supposed to support nearly 1 900 people, including unemployed youth and the elderly.
“The preservation orders follow an SIU investigation, which revealed that on 14 September 2018, former NLC Grant Manager Marubini Ramatsekisa submitted an internal proposal for ‘proactive funding’ for the project, which was approved on the same day by former NLC Chief Operating Officer Philemon Letwaba.
“On 3 October 2018, Malusi We Sizwe NPC applied for funding of R14 976 796. At the time, Sinqobile Khumalo, Margaret Sithole, and Lawrence Malungwa were listed as directors of the organisation.
“The NLC Adjudication Committee approved R13 million for the project on 1 November 2018. Shortly after the grant approval and the signing of the grant agreement, Nelisiwe Mahlangu was appointed as a director of the NPC on 26 November 2018, while the existing directors resigned on the same day,” the SIU explained in a statement.
The first tranche of R7 million was paid by the NLC in December 2018 followed by a second tranche of R6 million in March the following year.
“Before receiving the NLC funding, the NPC had only R100 in its bank account,” the corruption busting unit noted.
The SIU also uncovered that monies began to flow from the NPC account to various entities and transactions linked to the acquisition of immovable properties.
These include:
- The purchase of a property in Soshanguve, Pretoria, by Mahlangu on 9 April 2019 for R345 000.
- Transfers totalling R5.6 million from Malusi We Sizwe NPC to Trizaflo (Pty) Ltd, owned by Wisane Mabundza, between March and November 2019.
- Trizaflo made a transfer of R2 118 338 to attorneys for the purchase of property in Midstream Estate, Pretoria. The property was registered in the name of Alfred Sigudhla on 9 December 2019. The SIU obtained a preservation order of this property in April 2025.
- The purchase and transfer of another property in The Orchards, Hartbeeshoek, Gauteng, into Mahlangu’s name on 1 October 2020.
“The investigation by the SIU showed that the properties in Soshanguve and The Orchards were purchased for Mahlangu’s benefit using NLC funds, rather than for an agricultural project in KwaZulu-Natal.
“The orders are intended to prevent the sale or disposal of the properties pending the finalisation of civil proceedings aimed at recovering misappropriated funds,” the SIU said. – SAnews.gov.za
