Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has placed the head of the department, Sandile Buthelezi, and two other senior officials – all facing fraud and theft charges – under precautionary suspension.
Nicholas Crisp has been appointed as acting DG following the suspensions related to a criminal case on the alleged irregular awarding of a R1m tender, reports TimesLIVE.
Motsoaledi said Buthelezi was on suspension until the case is finalised or until his contract expires, whichever comes first.
This follows Buthelezi’s appearance in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court alongside deputy director-general for tertiary health and hospital services Malixole Mahlathi, and CFO Phineas Phaswa Mamogale, both also placed on suspension.
Motsoaledi has appointed Crisp, the deputy director general responsible for National Health Insurance, as acting DG for a period of three months.
The Hawks previously reported Buthelezi and the other two appeared in court on Monday after an investigation that began in April 2024. They are all out on bail of R10 000 each.
A fourth suspect, who is a service provider, and her company were yet to be arrested, added the Hawks.
News24 reported earlier this week that Buthelezi received a temporary reprieve in another matter after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to enrol a bribery case against him, sending that docket back to the Hawks for further investigation.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, had said the allegations against Buthelezi were serious and “there is no doubt about the need for action to be taken”.
Buthelezi, Mamogale, and Mahlathi have been accused of unduly awarding a service provider more than R1m in donor money in contravention of procurement regulations.
More trouble
Buthelezi is central to another investigation into allegations that he solicited a R500 000 bribe from construction company Base Major in July 2023.
The company was later awarded a R566m contract, handled by the Independent Development Trust (IDT) on behalf of the department, allegedly via an irregular process.
NPA Gauteng spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana told News24: “The NPA decided not to enrol the matter in its current state. However, further investigations will continue, and a final decision will be made.”
The decision means the bribery case will be prolonged further while investigators conduct additional work before the NPA can make a final determination on prosecution.
This is not the first time Buthelezi has faced controversy concerning Global Fund money, and Ramaphosa has been aware of the numerous allegations swirling around him and health infrastructure projects funded by the international donor.
Last year, Magwenya told amaBhungane that the bribery allegations against Buthelezi, as well as the controversial R836bn PSA oxygen plant tender in which Buthelezi played a key role, were already “being looked into”.
‘No bank account’
Documents seen by News24 details exactly how the officials siphoned Global Fund money through a company that was just eight days old and used it to investigate a whistleblower, the chief director of labour relations in the department, advocate Maile Nkgake.
Nkgake had previously exposed more than R1.4bn in fraud in the North West Department of Health.
The three had diverted the money, with the Auditor-General flagging the matter in 2024 for violating the Public Finance Management Act and for tax evasion.
The Hawks found that the eight-day-old company’s director, Nokuzola Mafunda, had a relationship with Mahlathi.
Motsoaledi, however, denied that Nkgake was a whistle-blower.
“No whistle-blower is being charged for whistle-blowing … I will not participate in a process that charges or persecutes a whistle-blower. I have worked in Home Affairs, and without whistle-blowers, the state cannot survive,” he said.
Mafunda handed herself over to police last week and was also charged with fraud and theft, appearing in court with the other three.
How they did it
The Sowetan reports that three months after her first invoice of R530 000 was rejected by the Health Department, Mafunda had registered her company, Ithani Amen, into the government database and managed to rake in R940 000 without even having a banking account.
The company was only eight-days-old when it was awarded the tender, allegedly with the help of the department officials
Two months later, on 2 November 2023, Mafunda submitted an invoice for more than R530 000 to the department under her personal name and banking details, but it was rejected.
“The invoice was not paid because the company was not registered in the Central Supplier Database (CSD) as per National Treasury instructions and the supply chain management does not pay individuals. However, it is alleged that on 29 January 2025, three months after the appointment, the accused registered the company on CSD which thereafter received total payments of more than R940 000 between 12 February 2024 and 14 January 2025,” said Mahanjana.
Calls for suspension
An outraged DA had demanded Buthelezi be suspended pending the outcome of the investigations.
“It is absolutely unfathomable that a DG arrested for corruption and fraud is still running the department today,” the DA’s health spokesperson Michèle Clark had told Business Day.
“Minister Motsoaledi has allowed this situation to unfold without clear action, raising serious concerns about accountability at the department’s highest levels. He and President Cyril Ramaphosa cannot afford to sit on their hands while allegations of corruption engulf the leadership of the national health system,” she had said.
Buthelezi was previously placed on precautionary suspension in 2021 during an investigation by the SIU into the Digital Vibes communications contract scandal that engulfed the health department.
A disciplinary inquiry later cleared him of the charges, and his suspension was lifted.
The scandal ultimately led to the resignation of former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.
Business Day article – DA calls for health director-general to be suspended (Restricted access)
Sowetan article – How former health boss allegedly fleeced department of R1m (Restricted access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Health boss and top officials on fraud, theft charges
Contractor linked to Health DG bribery claims wins dodgy hospital tender
Forensic report exposes extent of state hospital oxygen tender fraud