Newly appointed NPA boss Advocate Andy Mothibi.
Image: GCIS
Newly appointed NPA boss Advocate Andy Mothibi says all criminal referrals arising from investigations into the alleged R900 million Tembisa Hospital corruption scandal will receive attention, including those involving alleged controversial figure Hangwani Morgan Maumela.
Mothibi made the remarks during a media briefing in Pretoria, where he outlined the strategic direction and priorities of the NPA.
The briefing marked his first formal engagement with the media since assuming the role of National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), succeeding Advocate Shamila Batohi.
Addressing questions about Maumela, Mothibi said the matter had already been raised during the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) earlier probe.
“When I was the head of the SIU, remember we released an interim report. That report indicated that we were dealing with syndicates,” he said.
“Some of the syndicates indicated that they were, in a way, operating under Maumela.”
Mothibi said that since taking office at the NPA he had begun reviewing the SIU report and the criminal referrals linked to it.
“When I got to the NPA, and as recently as this week - actually this week - after the SIU released its report, I was going through the matters,” he said.
“I spoke to my colleague, the head of the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), and said there are matters in that investigation that are attracting AFU services, including those involving Home Affairs and possibly the Tembisa investigation. We are seized with those matters.”
New National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Andy Mothibi says prosecutors have been instructed to attend to every criminal referral linked to the Tembisa Hospital investigation.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
He added that he had instructed officials to prioritise all criminal referrals stemming from the Tembisa investigation.
“In fact, I called for all the criminal referrals in the Tembisa investigation that have been referred to the NPA and indicated that they need to be attended to, including where there was a referral involving Maumela.
”All of those will receive attention, I can assure you,” Mothibi said.
The comes after the release of an interim report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) last September that uncovered what investigators describe as a massive looting scheme within Gauteng’s healthcare system.
The probe revealed that more than R2 billion may have been siphoned from funds intended for Tembisa Hospital, exposing three coordinated syndicates allegedly responsible for the fraud.
At a briefing announcing the findings, Mothibi - then head of the SIU - was joined by Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, and Gauteng MEC for Health Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko.
“We can reveal today, through the SIU investigation, that evidence has uncovered widespread maldistribution and other public procurement irregularities,” Mothibi said at the time.
“This devastating plunder of public funds represents a serious betrayal of the public trust.”
The investigation began in 2022 at the request of the Gauteng premier’s office, when officials initially believed about R850 million had been misappropriated.
The probe has since expanded significantly, with investigators uncovering a far larger scheme involving inflated contracts, forged documents and collusion between government officials and private suppliers.
The sprawling corruption investigation at Tembisa Hospital has now landed with the National Prosecuting Authority, where new head Advocate Andy Mothibi says prosecutors will act on all criminal referrals linked to the scandal.
Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
According to the SIU’s findings, the most prominent group - dubbed the Maumela Syndicate - is allegedly led by businessman Hangwani Morgan Maumela, who was previously linked to President Cyril Ramaphosa through a former marriage.
Ramaphosa has previously denied knowing Maumela.
The SIU alleges that Maumela’s network was involved in the misappropriation of R816,560,710 across 1,728 procurement bundles.
The syndicate is linked to 41 suppliers and service providers, with assets estimated at about R520 million, including luxury properties and high-end vehicles.
A second group, known as the Mazibuko Syndicate, linked to Rudolph Mazibuko, is allegedly connected to R283,504,291 in fraudulent activities, with property holdings across Gauteng and the Western Cape.
A third network, referred to by investigators as Syndicate X, is under investigation for R596,424,356 in procurement bundles and is suspected of involvement in money laundering and procurement irregularities.
Investigators also uncovered smaller syndicates forming part of a broader corruption network involving officials and service providers.
The SIU estimates that corrupt payments linking officials in the Gauteng Department of Health and employees at Tembisa Hospital amount to about R122 million.
At least 15 current and former officials have been implicated in offences including corruption, money laundering, bid rigging and collusion.
Investigators say much of the manipulation appears to have been carried out by lower-level officials who exploited weaknesses in procurement oversight.
The corruption scandal is widely believed to be linked to the assassination of Babita Deokaran, a senior finance official in the Gauteng Department of Health.
Deokaran was shot and killed outside her home on 23 August 2021, shortly after flagging suspicious payments linked to Tembisa Hospital.
In the months before her murder, she had identified and reported numerous irregular, inflated and potentially fraudulent payments for investigation.
The SIU has since issued 116 disciplinary referrals against officials implicated in the scandal as part of efforts to hold those involved accountable.
simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za
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