/ 28 October 2006

Former Lotto boss Khoza killed in car accident

South African businessman Humphrey Khoza died in a car accident on the East Rand, Ekurhuleni Metro police said on Saturday.

Inspector Johnny Nhlapo said the accident occurred on the N12, heading east, near the Comaro Street offramp around 9pm on Friday.

Khoza (58) apparently lost control of his vehicle on the wet road and hit a sign post.

He was thrown from his vehicle and died on the scene, said Nhlapo.

Khoza was the chief executive of the Lagos, Nigeria state lottery, Orion Technologies. He was the former chief executive of Uthingo Management, the South African national lottery operator.

Khoza served as the president of the South African Chamber of Business for two years and was the deputy president of the Black Management Forum in 1992/93.

According to MBendi Information Services, Khoza was the chairperson (non-executive) for Primovie, and the chairperson of Lengana Investments and Mpande Holdings.

MBendi said Khoza’s first job was at Thomas Barlow, a subsidiary of the Barlow group, but the department of native affairs refused him permission to work in Johannesburg. The company offered him a job as a clerk at a sister company in Germiston. Four years later he joined Colgate-Palmolive.

He worked for Shell for 14 years as director of corporate services and then for 11 years at Nestlé as director of human resources.

While at Shell, he was seconded to the Independent Electoral Commission as director of communications. – Sapa