The Special Tribunal has ordered the South African Sports Confederation and Olympics Committee (SASCOC), those behind the “hijacked NPO” Mshandukani Foundation, and other entities linked to former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) officials to repay almost R25 million they are alleged to have “siphoned” from the NLC.
The money was originally intended for a 2016 Rio Olympics “roadshow” send-off. Instead, it is alleged to have been paid into bank accounts connected to NLC officials, including former chief operating officer Philemon Letwaba. Earlier, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) obtained a preservation order to freeze the assets of those involved.
The tribunal later ruled that SASCOC, the Mshandukani Foundation respondents, and other related parties must repay the funds, after determining the process and award of the money were unlawful. Tribunal Judge Brian Mashile declared the grant unlawful and set aside the decision granting the funding.
The case stems from an SIU investigation that uncovered a scheme in which non-profit organizations were allegedly used to steal funds from the NLC. The alleged theft occurred by “hijacking” existing organizations or by using fake documents and the identities of people who were unaware of the scheme. The funding application was submitted by SASCOC on behalf of the foundation, even though the Mshandukani Foundation had only been registered for four months and had no track record.
The NLC approved the grant of R24.98 million within six days. In July 2026, SASCOC transferred all but R150,000 to the Mshandukani Foundation. Within days, most of that money was allegedly diverted to entities linked to NLC officials, including more than R15 million paid to Ironbridge Travel Agency and about R3 million to Mosokodi Business Trust—both said to be linked to Letwaba.
Letwaba also reportedly received R450,000 directly, while Tsietsi Maselwa, the manager of legal services, received R600,000. The judge rejected claims of ignorance made by the Mshandukani respondents, describing it as implausible in light of uncontested evidence from two unwitting “directors” of the foundation. According to the evidence, their identities had been “stolen” and used to secure the foundation’s registration.
SASCOC’s then chief financial officer, Vinesh Maharaj, told the tribunal that the chairperson of the NLC at the time, Alfred Nevhutandu, and the late chief executive officer of SASCOC, Tubby Reddy, were “central” to building the process that ultimately resulted in the funding. The judge said the evidence presented indicated that Nevhutandu was the instigator of the process and that the tribunal had also identified an “eligible entity” for the funding.
Judge Mashile said the respondents were required to pay back the money. He noted that Imbizo Events and Minenhle Dlamini had already concluded settlement agreements with the SIU and had complied with their undertakings. “The grant was not used for the purpose for which it was awarded. Each of the respondents were complicit in the scheme,” the judge said.
He also addressed SASCOC’s argument that it was placed in an “unenviable position” because it could not reject Nevhutandu’s proposal for identifying and handpicking an NPO to facilitate the process, since SASCOC relied on the NLC for funding. Despite that, SASCOC conceded it retained R150,000 that had not been used for the intended purpose.
The judge found that Maharaj and SASCOC had not done enough to protect themselves from the risk of illegality and that Maharaj had disregarded fiduciary duties. He said Maharaj and SASCOC were jointly and severally liable to repay R150,000 to the NLC, and that the other respondents must jointly repay R24.83 million.
