The embattled Ingonyama Trust Board’s (ITB) showdown with its former chairperson Jerome Ngwenya has entered a decisive phase, with lawyers moving to attach his properties and those of his associates.
This comes as Ngwenya moves to appeal against a September Pietermaritzburg high court ruling which ordered him to repay R30m within 30 days to the trust, after finding he had unlawfully diverted funds from a land sale transaction.
Advocate Linda Zama, deputy chairperson of the ITB, confirmed the repayment order was handed down in September and that Ngwenya had missed the deadline. His appeal did not suspend the enforcement process. The presiding judge found Ngwenya had “acted without authorisation” and directed that the money be promptly repaid, warning that failure to comply would trigger asset recovery measures.
Zama said: “The court was clear — Mr Ngwenya and his associates must pay back the money. The 30‑day deadline has long passed, and we are now moving to attach assets. Sequestration papers were filed by our lawyers in the Pietermaritzburg high court this week.”
She emphasised that the case was separate from another investigation being finalised by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
That probe concerns the alleged theft of R41m from Ingonyama Holdings’ (IH) account, money generated from cellphone companies renting space for mast installations on ITB land.
We cannot continue with this situation as if it is business as usual
— Mzwanele Nyhontso, land reform and rural development minister
The SIU has traced properties, cars and other assets believed to have been bought with the diverted funds, and has asked parliament’s portfolio committee for space to complete its work without full disclosure. The developments have once again thrown the spotlight on the controversial trust, an institution that has long been mired in controversy.
Established in 1994, it was created to hold and administer nearly 3-million hectares of land in KwaZulu‑Natal that had previously been under the authority of the Zulu monarchy. Its mandate is to manage the land “for the benefit, material welfare and social wellbeing of the members of the communities” living on it. ver the years, however, critics have accused the ITB of mismanagement, lack of transparency, and failing to deliver benefits to ordinary residents.
Lease agreements with companies — such as cellphone operators placing masts on its land — generate millions in revenue, but not much of this money has reached communities.
The portfolio committee and the auditor‑general have repeatedly flagged governance failures, while civil society groups have called for reform or even the dissolution of the trust.
The auditor-general’s latest report reinforced these concerns, painting a bleak picture of governance at the entity. It flagged irregular expenditure and weak compliance with the Public Finance Management Act, and warned that both the trust and its commercial arm, IH, were failing to demonstrate transparency in how millions of rand from land leases and rentals were being managed. These findings have added weight to parliamentary calls for stricter oversight, reinforcing concerns that ordinary beneficiaries of the trust are not seeing the financial benefits intended for them.
The court action follows an announcement in October by land reform and rural development minister Mzwanele Nyhontso of an independent inquiry to investigate ITB governance failures.
We’ve been seized with this matter since last year when we came in as a new committee and we are worried that the ITB is the custodian of more than 2-million hectares of land on behalf of the people and there are governance issues between the board and IH.
— Mangaqa Mncwango, land reform and rural development portfolio committee chair
Nyhontso told the committee that a breakdown in governance-related matters had “adverse” effects on decision-making at the entity, which “created operational uncertainty, and most of all undermined service delivery”.
“We cannot continue with this situation as if it is business as usual,” the minister said. “I determined that an independent, credible process is necessary to assess the situation and chart an effective way forward in resolving the current impasse and challenges.”
Nyhontso said an agreement had been reached with Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini to establish an independent inquiry led by a senior counsel to investigate governance failures and recommend corrective action. The inquiry, he explained, would last six months and examine the functioning of the board, its interactions with the trustee and the performance of IH.
Land reform and rural development portfolio committee chair Mangaqa Mncwango said the committee had extended invitations to both the ITB and Ngwenya to clarify the matter around the R40m during its September sitting. The ITB attended, while Ngwenya submitted a lengthy letter excusing himself, arguing that since the matters were before the courts, he would not appear until they were finalised.
Mncwango told the Sunday Times: “We’ve been seized with this matter since last year when we came in as a new committee and we are worried that the ITB is the custodian of more than 2-million hectares of land on behalf of the people and there are governance issues between the board and IH.
“We invited them to seek clarity on the R40m. We don’t share his [Ngwenya’s] view and we have since consulted parliament’s legal services with the view to subpoena. I have seen [the legal services’] draft report but I cannot discuss it until it has been presented to the committee.”
Ngwenya didn’t respond to queries.
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