The M&G visited Khoza's Soshanguve home, a government-issued RDP house, where a neat extra residence has been added to the yard. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
The government-issued low-cost house of 67-year-old pensioner Salamina Khoza – who is accused of being a front for the allegedly corrupt Chetty family – has emerged as the headquarters of alleged procurement graft at the South African Police Service (SAPS).
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) documents show how the allegedly crooked relationship between Khoza and the Chettys, who face multimillion-rand fraud criminal cases, began in October 2014 when a company registered in Khoza’s name, Sifikile Furniture and Projects, received R966 508 to supply the police with toners, internal educational leaflets about firearm safekeeping, and digital recording devices.
Khoza’s humble home, which has an unplastered wall boundary and stands along an untarred and bumpy street with no street lighting, belies the fact that companies registered in the pensioner’s name scored more than R3.7-million in personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts after the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020.
Despite being the alleged beneficiary of what the state claims to be fraudulent contracts, Khoza pleaded poverty in the Johannesburg specialised commercial crimes court, sitting in Palm Ridge, during her bail application in February, saying her only source of income was the R1 890 pensioner’s grant she received from the South African Social Security Agency.
Khoza, who said she could only afford bail of R500, had her poverty pleas ignored and released on bail of R5 000.
NPA investigative notes place Kishene Chetty as the head of an alleged scheme in which businesses are registered in other people’s names. The state claims that Chetty is the “sole beneficiary” of those companies’ accounts.
The companies, with the alleged assistance of senior officers within the police’s national supply-chain management department, then wage a “collusive bidding” war to gain a “highly inflated and not cost-effective” contract for the alleged financial benefit of Chetty and his family.
Currently, the NPA has three court-enrolled cases involving Chetty and alleged fraud, corruption, theft and forgery within the SAPS.
The state accuses Khoza of raking in contracts worth more than R4.6m, allegedly through Siyanqoba Trading and Projects, as well as Sifikile Furniture, both of which are companies registered in her name that received more than R3.7m in total to supply PPE to the police.
In 2020, Khoza was arrested for allegedly fronting for the Chettys in a police vehicle marking case that the NPA said was rife with fraud and corruption. The matter has been provisionally withdrawn from the court roll.
Two weeks ago, Khoza was nabbed for her alleged role in what the state says was the gross flouting of procurement regulations by Sifikile Furniture — with the alleged assistance of two officers, Vhutshilo Mulaudzi and Colonel Stephina Mahlangu — to supply toners, leaflets and recorders for R966 508 between 2014 and 2016.
Investigators, according to internal state notes, allege that Khoza’s home in Soshanguve in Tshwane was listed as Sifikile Furniture’s business address, but that the company “did not operate from the premises mentioned in the written price [quotations], and therefore misrepresented its business address”.
Sifikile Furniture is also accused of unlawfully submitting unsigned invoices, without including value-added tax (VAT), as well as the submission of alleged fraudulent broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) certificates that the state says Mahlangu ignored, in receiving R239 180 in August and September 2015 to supply toners.
This followed “collusive bidding” between Sifikile Furniture, Isasalethu Construction and Office Consumables – both of which are registered in Khoza’s name – and Baroma Construction and Office Consumables, which is registered in 43-year-old Harry Mkhulu Milanzi’s name.
NPA documents show that Milanzi also resides in Soshanguve, only a short distance away from Khoza’s home.
There are three other companies involved in the alleged intricate scam; namely Bambanani Marketing and Projects, which Chetty registered in his name; Super Stationery Distributors, which is allegedly fronted by Kumarasen Prithiviraj; and Vatika Trading and Projects, which is registered in Lorrette Joubert’s name.
Joubert, investigators allege, is a former employee of the Chetty family who became Vatika’s sole director. All face, in total, 21 charges of fraud, forgery and theft.
“On 24 August 2015, Mahlangu approved Sifikile Furniture’s appointment and certified that all suppliers were level 3 B-BBEE suppliers and that original tax clearance certificates were attached,” reads the investigative note.
“Mahlangu did not query the submission of invalid BBBEE certificates by the three potential bidders, which was attached to their written price quotations, as well as why the quotations did not include VAT as required.”
The documents say in March 2016, more “collusive bidding” occurred to award Sifikile Furniture a R484 000 contract for the supply of 40 000 colour leaflets to educate the police about the “safekeeping of firearms”.
In bidding for the leaflets tender, investigators claim that Sifikile Furniture “misrepresented … that the bidder’s spouse, trustees, shareholders and/or members did not do business with the state in the previous 12 months, and had no interest in any other companies, whether or not they were bidding for the contract”.
It added that the bidding process “was not executed in accordance with a system that was fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective”.
All accused are out on bail.
Meanwhile, Khoza and Chetty are embroiled in alleged PPE corruption cases alongside Brigadier James Ramanjalum, the former SAPS national supply-chain management head, who is accused of using proceeds from the contract to supply a million latex gloves, among other things, to pay for his legal fees in another R191m graft case.
The R191m corruption case, which involves former national commissioner Khomotso Phahlane and is set for trial this year, involves the fitting of more than 1 500 Gauteng police vehicles with sirens and radios, among other equipment.
According to the state, Ramanjalum used a portion of the PPE money to pay Muthray and Associates, the law firm that represented him when the first arrests for the R191m “blue lights” matter were made in November 2018.
Siyanqoba Trading and Projects was the vehicle through which the money was laundered, the NPA alleges.
“During the period between 25 May and 25 June 2020 a total of R270 000 was paid to the firm of attorneys [Muthray] … by [Chetty] and/or [Khoza] and/or Siyanqoba,” reads the NPA’s charge sheet.
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