National director of public prosecutions Andy Mothibi has urged anyone who has legal issues they wish to raise to do so appropriately by following available legal avenues.
Mothibi made this comment after seeing a video on social media of an alleged MKP member who attempted to barge into the NPA head office in Pretoria, apparently looking for a senior official of the asset forfeiture unit (AFU).
In the video recorded outside the NPA building, the man uttered threats designed to intimidate the AFU senior financial investigator for doing his work. He further threatened to bring a mob to block access to the NPA head office for 14 days, or until money was released to “the women of South Africa”.
“The NDPP strongly condemns this behaviour and views the tactic as not only unlawful, as it is an attempt to interfere in the work of the NPA, but also as an attack on the rule of law,” said NPA spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke.
She said two preservation orders of R4.1m were granted by the Pretoria high court to the AFU in 2024, related to the Growsave Stokvel.
The first order was for R4m and the second for R136,000. The preservation orders were in respect of funds held in various bank accounts in the name of Women Against Poverty and Hunger (Pty) Ltd (WAPH) and others.
Subsequently, the Pretoria AFU was granted a forfeiture order of R136,000 by the Pretoria high court in June last year.
However, on November 26 2025, the court delivered a judgment setting aside the initial preservation order of R4m and directing the release of the frozen accounts.
The NDPP disputed both the correctness and the legality of that judgment and filed an application for leave to appeal it.
“At this stage, the matter is far from concluded, as there are two interlocutory applications pending, namely the application for leave to appeal and an application ... to determine whether the order directing the release of the frozen accounts should be suspended, pending an appeal.”
Makeke alleged WAPH and its organisers have not litigated their opposition to AFU asset recovery proceedings in a professional and fair manner, prompting the AFU to complain to the acting judge president of the Gauteng division (Pretoria).
“Lately they have now resorted to threatening both the AFU and police officials involved in the matter. The intimidation and threats are serious and call for urgent action, and a criminal case has been registered with the police,” Makeke said.
The AFU became involved in the matter after receiving information from the National Consumer Commission that WAPH or members associated with it invited members of the public, via various online media platforms including Facebook, to invest a one-off amount of R300 and receive monthly groceries for 12 months.
A price comparison with different retailers revealed that the total value of these items amounted to R441 a month, meaning that WAPH promised groceries worth R5,300 for a one-off payment of R300.
In addition, members were encouraged to recruit new members and could earn cash rewards; for example, recruiting 10 members could yield R1,000.
“The investigation determined that WAPH had conducted a multiplication scheme, prohibited under the Consumer Protection Act.”
The AFU contended that the funds in the preserved bank accounts constituted “proceeds of unlawful activities”.
TimesLIVE
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