Cash, properties, pensions and investments worth about R42.2m have been secured by the Special Investigating Unit after being linked to bribes allegedly paid by businessman Stefan Govindraju to Tembisa Hospital staff – in one instance millions being deposited into the bank account of a nine-year-old girl, reports The Citizen.
The bribes – thought to total R100m – are suspected to have clinched procurement deals worth around R600m.
Govindraju was arrested in August and granted R200 000 bail.
The latest action comes after the SIU was granted a preservation order by the Special Tribunal last month regarding the hospital’s operational manager Zacharia Tshisele and his two wives, “to prevent the disposal of assets belonging to Tshisele, his civil wife Phumudzo Tshisele, his customary wife Fulufhelo Lineth Tshililo, and entities and associates connected with them”.
The order also "restrains payments and dealings by companies and individuals implicated in the corruption network, including Joseph Fhumulani Muthaphuli and Ernest Monnakgotla, former area manager at Tembisa Hospital and a member of the hospital’s quotation adjudication committee”.
Tshisele and Monnakgotla allegedly worked together to siphon funds from Tembisa’s coffers into two major syndicates.
Tshisele’s pension, valued at around R1.1m, was also frozen, as were two properties in Kempton Park (R1.3m) and Boksburg (R820 000).
Linked to two syndicates
The SIU says Tshisele is linked to two of the three syndicates at Tembisa Hospital, “one being the Govindraju syndicate, which used 75 companies to trade with the hospital and received R600m”, and the other being the Mazibuko syndicate.
The latter was operated by Rudolf Mduduzi Mazibuko, and used 17 companies to trade with the hospital and rake in R283m. Both syndicates relied on corrupt co-operation from hospital officials, including Tshisele and Monnakgotla, to facilitate unlawful procurement, added the SIU.
Tshisele is thought to have manipulated supply chain processes in 2017 while he was operational manager of the hospital’s theatre to enable payments to companies linked to the syndicates.
“He was directly involved in transactions worth R15.9m, which were often unnecessary, undelivered, or only partially delivered.”
The funds from the Govindraju syndicate were channelled through a company called Create 10, co-directed by Tshisele, Monnakgotla and Muthaphuli. It was used for properties, mining ventures and a film project.
“Tshisele and Monnakgotla invested R17.5m in Manngwe Mining and Solmag Mining, while R15.5m was advanced through Time Bomb towards the production of a movie titled The Bad Bishop. Notably, R1.5m was transferred into the account of Tshisele’s nine-year-old daughter.”
The SIU said Tshisele committed in 2025 to repay money to the SIU and has so far paid R13 530 894.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
How Tembisa ‘looter’ bribed officials
Tembisa officials helped kingpin score R25m in two hours