A ruling by the Special Tribunal has confirmed that the R9 million grant allocated to the Motheo Sports and Entertainment Foundation by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) is declared unlawful and invalid. This grant was intended for a sports complex in Protea Glen, Soweto, Johannesburg, that was ultimately never constructed.
The Tribunal annulled the grant agreement, ordering Jeremane Petrus Sedibe, recognized by the SIU as the principal orchestrator of the scheme, along with Motheo and several former NLC officials and others involved, to repay R6 million collectively.
Out of the total, the initial two payments amounting to R6 million were disbursed; however, the third payment was withheld when the SIU’s investigation revealed that the funds had been misappropriated and that the sports complex was not built.
Irregular approvals and a falsified progress report led the NLC to deny justification for the final payment.
Additionally, the Tribunal upheld a prior order that restrains former NLC employee Sanele Dlamini from accessing his pension fund until the SIU has retrieved the misappropriated funds completely. Dlamini was also directed to pay the legal costs associated with the pension preservation order issued on 10 June 2025.
This judgment is the result of an SIU investigation revealing that Motheo’s initial request for over R61.6 million was unsuccessful, with the NLC ultimately approving only R70,000, which the non-profit organization declined.
Yet, on 14 April 2021, only five months later, Marubini Ramatsekisa, a former NLC Grant Funding Projects Manager, recommended that Motheo be granted R9 million through the NLC’s proactive funding initiative.
This recommendation received approval from the former Acting Chief Operations Officer (COO), Nkhesho Njoni.
On 24 May 2021, a grant agreement was signed by Tebogo Joseph Mohlala, director of Motheo, and Nonhlanhla Matshazi, co-director of Londilox NPC, with payment scheduled in three phases.
The investigation revealed that after the first payment of R3 million on 9 June 2021, R950,000 was funneled to PSKO (Pty) Ltd, owned by Sedibe; R500,000 went to Londilox NPC; R400,000 was allocated to Synercon (Pty) Ltd; and between June and August 2021, there were cash withdrawals amounting to R750,000, ATM withdrawals of R282,850, and other financial transactions totaling R117,150.
It was further demonstrated that a progress report prepared by Ziphozinhle Khoza of SRSQS Quantity Surveyors, which her superior Marito Mabunda approved, inaccurately depicted construction progress and expenditures from 9 June 2021 to 30 November 2021.
Based on the evidence presented, the SIU established grounds for a prima facie case of fraud, theft, and corruption against Sedibe, Motheo, Matshazi, Khoza, and others involved in the unlawful scheme.
The Tribunal has mandated that Motheo, Ramatsekisa, Njoni, Mohlala, Sedibe, Moadi, Dlamini, Matshazi, PSKO, and 2MC must repay the R6 million collectively.
The Tribunal specified the following repayment responsibilities:
• Londilox NPC and Matshazi to return R500,000 jointly;
- Synercon has been ordered to repay R400,000;
- PSKO is to return R950,000;
- 2MC must repay R382,205;
- Mohlala, Sedibe, and Matshazi, as signatories on Motheo’s bank account, are to repay R1,644,795, representing funds withdrawn or spent directly from the account.
