Zuko Komisa
- Khutso Daniel Makwela, director of two NPCs, repaid R3.2 million after admitting to the misuse of lottery funds.
- Grants intended for Free State football clinics and media development were diverted to purchase property in Bassonia.
- The SIU will refer the case to the NPA for criminal prosecution, despite the full financial recovery.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has successfully recovered R3,210,000 misappropriated from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) by a network of shell organisations.
Khutso Daniel Makwela, the director of the Todi Media Development Foundation and Zibsiflo NPC, signed an Acknowledgement of Debt and returned the full amount on 30 March 2026 after investigations exposed a systematic diversion of public money into private assets.
The probe into Todi Media revealed that a R1.5 million grant earmarked for journalists’ accommodation and equipment was instead channelled to private companies.
R900,000 was traced to Black Dungaree, a firm directed by Daniel Matome Malatjie, which used the funds to purchase a residential property in Bassonia Rock, Johannesburg.
A further R550,000 was diverted to Unscripted Communication, directed by Makhudu Sefara.
In a parallel scheme involving Zibsiflo NPC, the NLC awarded R1.71 million for women’s football clinics in the Free State.
The SIU found that the clinics were never held. Instead, the funds followed a similar path: R1.36 million was paid to Black Dungaree, and another R900,000 was used to acquire a second property in Bassonia under the names of Matlala Martha Malatji and Ngwako Moses Malatji.
Although the money has been repaid, the SIU is finalising a referral to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to pursue criminal charges for fraud and money laundering.
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