The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has secured a preservation order to freeze a luxury property in Bendor, Polokwane, and a Nissan NP200 bakkie.
An investigation is under way into an alleged bribery and corruption scheme where an Eskom employee and his family received about R8m in payments from companies unlawfully favoured in a R54m tender.
The order, granted by the Special Tribunal, prevents Johannes Seroke Mfalapitsa — an Eskom surveyor and project manager — and his spouse, Ndiyafhi Denge, and others from selling or dealing with the assets.
A network of family and friendship ties is at the heart of the alleged scheme, SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said.
Mfalapitsa was the “employer’s agent” and a technical evaluator for Eskom’s R54m tender for high-definition surveying services. His spouse, Denge, allegedly received more than R2.2m from the scheme, while his brother, David Mfalapitsa, is believed to have received R228,000 from a service provider’s director.
Tabogambambe, a company run by Mpho Negondeni — who Mfalapitsa’s spouse “raised as her own child” — was allegedly used as a conduit. The SIU asserts that more than R3.6m flowed from service providers to them, which was then used to pay for the construction of the Bendor property and to make payments to Denge.
Evidence suggests that Mfalapitsa favoured Buzwe in work allocations, against his supervisor’s advice. Funds were used to purchase building materials, pay the main contractor, and for luxury additions, such as a swimming pool and balustrades, at the Bendor property, registered in Denge’s name
— Kaizer Kganyago, SIU spokesperson
“The investigation also uncovered a close relationship between Mfalapitsa and Bulelani Lengoasa, the director of Buzwe Geomatics Engineering Services. Lengoasa personally paid Mfalapitsa’s brother and made payments exceeding R155,000 directly to contractors building the swimming pool and balustrades at the Bendor property,” said Kganyago.
Mfalapitsa allegedly occupied multiple conflicting roles in the tender process, he said. It is alleged that: “He helped draft the tender’s scope of work, evaluated bidders’ technical submissions and was appointed the project manager for the awarded contract. While evaluating bids, his spouse was already receiving payments from one of the bidders, NTG Solutions CC. He failed to declare this in his annual conflict of interest declarations from 2016 to 2024.”
The SIU made a referral for disciplinary action against Mfalapitsa. He is currently suspended.
According to the SIU, a forensic analysis of bank statements tracked how money from Eskom was syphoned off.
Eskom paid three service providers — Buzwe, NTG Solutions, and Litha Langa Consulting — more than R29m under the contested contract. These companies then made a series of round-figure, VAT-less payments to entities and individuals linked to Mfalapitsa.
Buzwe, which received the largest share (25%) of the contract value, was the biggest payer, funnelling an estimated R7m to the Mfalapitsa network.
“Evidence suggests that Mfalapitsa favoured Buzwe in work allocations, against his supervisor’s advice. Funds were used to purchase building materials, pay the main contractor, and for luxury additions, such as a swimming pool and balustrades, at the Bendor property, registered in Denge’s name.”
The Bendor home is valued at about R3.9m. The SIU contends that at least R1.5m of its construction costs originated from unlawful payments.
The Nissan NP200 was allegedly acquired by Mfalapitsa from another Eskom employee, using funds traced from the scheme.
“The preservation order is an interim measure to secure the assets for future recovery. At the same time, the SIU prepares to institute civil action to review and set aside Eskom’s award of the tender to Buzwe, NTG and Litha Langa, and to recover financial losses suffered by the state.”
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