The Special Investigating Unit has secured the preservation of approximately R42.4 million in cash, properties, pensions and investments allegedly linked to bribes paid to officials at Tembisa Hospital.
The latest action forms part of a wider investigation into the alleged looting of more than R2 billion from the Gauteng facility through three coordinated procurement syndicates.
Alleged kingpin Stefan Govindraju, 37, faces 70 charges and was due to return to the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court for plea and sentencing proceedings. One reference in the case update placed his appearance on Monday, while a later court reference listed Tuesday.
Govindraju was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport last month and faces charges including fraud, theft, money laundering and corruption-related offences. He was released on R200,000 bail.
SIU spokesperson Selby Makgotho said the Special Tribunal granted a preservation order last month preventing the disposal of assets belonging to Zacharia Tshisele, a former operational manager at Tembisa Hospital’s theatre, his civil wife Phumudzo Tshisele, his customary wife Fulufhelo Lineth Tshililo, and companies and associates linked to them.
The order also prevents dealings involving Joseph Fhumulani Muthaphuli and Ernest Monnakgotla, a former area manager at Tembisa Hospital and a member of its quotation adjudication committee.
“Tshisele and Monnakgotla allegedly worked together to siphon funds from Tembisa Hospital’s coffers into two major syndicates,” Makgotho said.
Three syndicates identified
By September last year, the SIU had identified three syndicates allegedly involved in the procurement scandal. The Maumela syndicate was linked to approximately R816.5 million, the Mazibuko syndicate to about R283 million, and the Govindraju syndicate to roughly R600 million.
The Govindraju operation was previously known only as “Syndicate X”. The SIU said roughly R100 million in bribes was allegedly paid by Govindraju to hospital officials to secure procurement deals worth approximately R600 million.
The investigation traces back to the work of Babita Deokaran, the Gauteng Department of Health’s acting chief financial officer. Deokaran was shot and killed outside her Johannesburg home in August 2021, days after raising concerns about almost R850 million in suspicious transactions linked to Tembisa Hospital.
Her concerns helped expose a sharp increase in payments to companies that appeared to be shell companies. Deokaran had told colleagues that slowing the flow of money could cost her life. The circumstances surrounding her killing and the procurement investigation later became closely linked in the public eye.
How the alleged scheme operated
The SIU said Tshisele, who was appointed operational manager of the hospital’s theatre in 2017, used his position to initiate supply-chain processes and confirm that goods had been received. This allegedly enabled payments to companies connected to the procurement syndicates.
“He was directly involved in transactions worth about R15.9 million, each kept below the R500 000 threshold to avoid competitive bidding,” said Makgotho.
Many of the transactions were allegedly for goods that were unnecessary, never delivered or only partly delivered.
Payments from the Govindraju syndicate included money from companies called Diolinx and Fuligenix. The funds were allegedly channelled through a front company called Create 10, which was co-directed by Tshisele, Monnakgotla and Muthaphuli.
According to the SIU, the money was used to finance properties, mining ventures and a film project.
Tshisele and Monnakgotla allegedly invested R17.5 million in Manngwe Mining and Solmag Mining. A further R15.5 million was advanced through a company called Time Bomb towards the production of a film titled The Bad Bishop.
“Notably, R1.5 million was transferred into the account of Tshisele’s nine-year-old daughter. The tribunal order directed Manngwe Mining, Solmag Mining, and Time Bomb to pay all amounts due under their funding agreements into the trust account of the SIU’s attorneys, Noko Maimela Incorporated, pending final determination of the main proceeding,” said Makgotho.
The wider case material also refers to businessman Hangwani Morgan Maumela, who paid R52 million towards one of the world’s rarest hypercars, a Pagani Huayra Roadster. Maumela’s name is associated with the Maumela syndicate, which the SIU has linked to alleged procurement losses of R816.5 million.
Assets placed under preservation
The preservation order freezes Tshisele’s government pension, valued at more than R1 million. It also covers two properties: a home in Birchleigh North, Kempton Park, valued at approximately R1.3 million, and a property in Delmore Park, Boksburg, worth about R820,000.
Tshisele signed an acknowledgement of debt with the SIU in 2025 and has since repaid R13.5 million in four instalments. Manngwe Mining agreed to repay R17.5 million over 36 months.
In May, the SIU separately obtained an order freezing a luxury property in Midstream Estate valued at R6.4 million and R1.8 million in pension benefits belonging to Duduzile Nobungwana, a former Tembisa Hospital supply-chain official.
Makgotho said neither Tshisele nor Nobungwana was challenging the SIU’s actions.
“Preservation orders and payment agreements against Tshisele and Nobungwana bring the total value of preserved cash and assets to about R42.4 million,” Makgotho said.
Criminal referrals and continuing investigation
The SIU has referred evidence of alleged criminal conduct to the National Prosecuting Authority. The NPA alleges that Govindraju’s conduct caused prejudice of more than R583 million to the Gauteng Department of Health, Tembisa Hospital, National Treasury and the public.
The investigation remains active. So far, the SIU has analysed 2,207 procurement bundles involving 207 service providers and 4,501 purchase orders.
The preservation orders do not represent a final finding of guilt. They are intended to prevent assets allegedly linked to wrongdoing from being sold, transferred or otherwise placed beyond the reach of the law while the main proceedings continue.
“The SIU remains determined to root out corruption across every government department, municipality and public entity where it is mandated to investigate,” Makgotho said.