Overview
- Director-general Sandile Buthelezi, deputy director-general Malixole Mahlathi and chief financial officer Phineas Phaswa Mamogale were taken into custody by the Hawks’ national serious corruption unit.
- It is alleged that in 2023 more than R1 million was improperly paid to a service provider in contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.
- The investigation began in April 2024 under the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation and resulted in Monday’s arrests and first court appearances.
- A company linked to one of the accused is charged as a juristic person, and a fourth suspect—identified as a service provider—and her company have not yet been arrested.
- The South African government acknowledged the arrests, emphasized the presumption of innocence, and reiterated its anti-corruption priority while declining to provide further case details during the active inquiry.