The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the two judgments handed down by the Special Tribunal last week, which reviewed and set aside unlawful contracts awarded by the Mpumalanga Department of Health during the Covid-19 pandemic to the daughter of an ANC veteran and her business partner.
The 2020 contracts, valued at R1 080 000.00 for 60 000 surgical masks and R13 297 500.00 for 150 000 protective medical jumpsuits, were declared constitutionally invalid, unlawful, and void, said an SIU statement.
Katleho O’Hara Mokonyane, the daughter of ANC First Deputy Secretary-General Nomvula Mokonyane, and her partner, Bonelela Mgudlwa, now have to repay R14m after the preservation order against their company, Tark Group Pty, formerly known as Tuwo Rhodesia, IOL reports.
The tribunal found that Katleho and Mgudlwa acted fraudulently and dishonestly to secure the contracts. It also argued that the process unlawfully deviated from the mandatory transversal contract, and bypassed the internal bid committees, involving a supplier who was not accredited with a licence from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to distribute medical services.
The Mpumalanga Department of Health did not oppose the application and filed notices to abide by it.
Earlier in 2022, the same company was implicated in a R2.7m soap tender for the Gauteng Health Department, which was found to be overcharged by more than R1.1m. The SIU report, released in January 2022, revealed that Mokonyane, who is also a former Cabinet minister, paid R1.6m from her personal account on behalf of the privately-owned company to supply the department with 200 000 bars of soap.
Legal challenge
Mokonyane’s partner, Mgudlwa, a lawyer and a member of the AbaThembu royal family, told The Citizen that despite acknowledging the legal process, he does not agree with the outcome of the tribunal.
He confirmed plans to challenge the decision through either a review or an appeal in the High Court.
He has also distanced his radio host wife, Anele Mdoda, from the controversy, saying the business dealings in question took place in 2020, well before his relationship with Mdoda began in mid-2024. The couple married the following year.
On the tribunal’s findings, he insisted that the tender process was legitimate and that all contractual obligations had been fulfilled.
He said the urgency of the Covid-19 pandemic required “rapid procurement of essential medical supplies”, and that his company had the infrastructure and capacity to deliver at scale.
“I participated in an RFQ procurement process initiated and overseen by the Department of Health, supplying products to a duly authorised and SAHPRA-licenced depot management entity responsible for receipt, quality testing and approval.
“The products met all required specifications, were accepted and utilised, and there is no evidence of any financial loss to the state,” he added.
IOl article – ANC veteran's daughter ordered to repay millions in PPE contract scandal (Open access)
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