Pretoria – The High Court of South Africa: Gauteng Division, Pretoria, has dismissed with costs an application to stop the auction of a luxury Bryanston house linked to Johannesburg businessman Hamilton Ndlovu.
Commenting on the matter on Wednesday, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) said it “welcomes the ruling”.
The High Court order dated, 1 September 2023, comes after the SIU and the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) accepted an offer of R7.1 million for the Bryanston home, as part of the implementation of investigation outcomes and consequence management to recover losses suffered by the State and NHLS.
SIU Spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the luxury house was auctioned on 4 July 2023, following a final forfeiture order that the Special Tribunal confirmed in January 2023.
Zaisan Khaihatsu (PTY) LTD, whose sole director is Nokuthula Mokoena, attempted to block the auction in the High Court without success.
The application was dismissed with costs.
In June 2022, the Special Tribunal ordered that 19 personal protective equipment (PPE) tenders amounting to R172 million that were awarded by the NHLS to Ndlovu, and associated companies be declared invalid and unlawful.
The Tribunal set aside the contracts and ordered that Ndlovu and associated companies pay back R158 million with interest.
“The Special Tribunal further ordered that assets and funds held by Ndlovu, Zaisan Kaihatsu, and Bugatti Security Services and Projects to be forfeited to the State,” said Kganyago.
“He challenged the forfeiture order, and the challenge was dismissed in January 2023.
“Processes are underway to implement the forfeiture order.”
The events follow an investigation by the SIU in the affairs of NHLS, which revealed that eight companies, directly and indirectly, linked to Ndlovu had obtained contracts worth a total of R172 742 275 for PPE.
Kganyago said the SIU investigation established that the contracts were obtained by abusing the emergency procurement procedures that the NHLS adopted to respond to the Covid-19 disaster during the first half of 2020.
“The SIU obtained and analysed the bank statements of Ndlovu’s front companies and other companies and individuals linked to him,” said Kganyago.
He said the analysis showed that, apart from an amount of about R15 million that appears to have been used for the purchase of PPE, the funds received from the NHLS were not used to obtain supplies of PPE to deliver upon the contracts to the NHLS.
“Instead, almost 90% of the funds flowed to Ndlovu for his personal use,” said Kganyago.
In terms of Proclamation R.23 of 2020, the SIU was authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations of corruption, malpractice, maladministration, and irregularities in procuring goods and services by State institutions in response to Covid-19.
