A murdered municipal worker flagged this R16 million deal
VANDERBIJLPARK — An investigation that began with the murder of an Emfuleni municipal employee has widened into an alleged R16 million procurement scandal, with businessman Mpho Edward Malema now behind bars and prosecutors saying further arrests cannot be ruled out.
Malema, 40, appeared in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrates Court on Monday on charges of corruption, fraud and theft involving a municipal fleet contract under which Emfuleni Local Municipality allegedly paid about R16 million for 18 vehicles. The National Prosecuting Authority alleges the vehicles were never delivered to the municipality as contracted, while seven have since been recovered from other entities.
He was remanded in custody until 14 September for formal bail investigations and a possible bail application. The State intends opposing his release on bail.
But the court appearance is now part of a considerably bigger story than an allegedly corrupt municipal tender.
Police have linked the investigation to the killing of Emfuleni employee Martha Mani Rantsofu, who had raised concerns about the controversial vehicle procurement before she was murdered earlier this year. Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the Political Killings Task Team became involved following Rantsofu’s murder and that cases emerging from the investigation are being pursued as investigators search for a motive and ultimately those responsible for her killing.
That connection significantly raises the public interest surrounding the fleet investigation. What initially appeared to be another case of alleged municipal procurement irregularities is now being examined alongside the killing of an employee who had reportedly flagged the transaction.
Malema is the second accused in the fleet case. Former Emfuleni fleet manager Lerato Selaelo Mpholo was arrested in July and has also been charged with fraud, corruption and theft. He was subsequently granted bail.
The NPA alleges that between July 2015 and July 2023, Mpholo received R50,000 and other undisclosed payments from Malema in return for facilitating and awarding Emfuleni fleet procurement contracts to Malema and his company. These remain allegations and have not been proven in court.
The allegations surrounding the vehicles had already been exposed months before Malema’s arrest. A forensic investigation commissioned into Emfuleni’s fleet procurement found that the municipality suffered losses exceeding R16 million through irregular vehicle purchases and non-delivery. The investigation recommended criminal action against the service provider and municipal officials.
Among the findings was an alleged R8.7 million payment for six trucks that were not delivered, despite invoices having been signed and stamped as confirmation that the municipality had received them.
Investigators also examined the procurement of eight Toyota Hilux bakkies at a combined cost of about R4.2 million. The forensic report found that only three of those eight vehicles could be confirmed as delivered, with five still outstanding as of July 2023.
The report alleged that documentation was supplied which created the impression that UD trucks had been delivered and were undergoing ownership transfers when the trucks had in fact not been received. It also alleged that municipal officials certified invoices associated with vehicles that were not delivered.
Emfuleni said in March that it intended pursuing criminal and disciplinary action against implicated officials, blacklisting companies and directors where appropriate and seeking civil recovery of losses suffered by the municipality.
The investigation has since moved beyond paperwork and into the physical whereabouts of the vehicles. Police previously confirmed that vehicles linked to the procurement had been traced after allegedly being registered under other entities, raising further questions about how vehicles paid for with Emfuleni municipal funds ended up elsewhere.
The case now leaves investigators with two distinct but potentially consequential lines of inquiry: establishing what happened to the millions of rand spent on Emfuleni’s fleet and determining whether Rantsofu’s murder was connected to concerns she raised about the transaction. Police have not established in court that the tender allegations were the motive for her killing, and that distinction remains important while the investigation continues.
The State said on Tuesday that further arrests in the R16 million fleet investigation cannot be ruled out. Malema’s return to court on 14 September will therefore take place while investigators continue pursuing both the procurement case and the circumstances surrounding Rantsofu’s death.
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