Inside Siyabonga Nkosi's luxurious homes seized by the Special Investigating Unit

• The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) seized Hines belonging to an Eskom service provider
• The SIU obtained an order to freeze assets, including vehicles and houses, during a corruption probe
• These include homes in high-end suburbs in Gauteng and seven luxury vehicles

With 10 years’ experience, Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ senior journalist, South Africa, provided insights into the criminal justice system, crime statistics, commissions of inquiry, and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun.

GAUTENG– The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) seized homes and luxury vehicles worth over R76 million as it investigates corruption in Eskom. South Africans blasted the use of state funds to fund decadent living.

The SIU posted a video of the luxurious homes on its Special Investigating Unit YouTube account. The video featured several homes from different estates in Gauteng belonging to businessman Siyabonga Moses. The homes were part of 17 houses and seven luxury vehicles seized after the SIU obtained a preservation order from the Special Tribunal.

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A look inside the homes

The homes were located in some of the top estates in Gauteng. These include a penthouse at The Capital on the Park, a house at Carlswald Lofts, Serengeti Estate, Helderwyk, and Parkhurst. The SIU also seized properties belonging to Eskom service provider Siyabonga Nkosi in KwaZulu-Natal. These include properties in Molokai Estate and Zimbali worth millions.

One of the houses in Serengeti Estate is a sprawling mansion surrounded by an arc of trees beyond which lie luxurious homes. Another house in the same estate features an off-grid solar system and a swimming pool. A third house in Helderwyk Estate was located on a small hill.

View the video on YouTube here:

The SIU’s investigation into Nkosi

According to the SIU, which posted on its @RSASIU X account, the order, granted by Judge BM Ngoepe, prevents them from being sold, transferred, or hidden during investigations. Nkosi was implicated in the siphoning of Eskom funds between 2021 and 2023. Officials at Matla and Kusile Power Stations approved irregular and inflated purchase orders for relays, equipment used by power stations to keep them running.

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However, Nkosi’s network of companies did not deliver relays, which were charged at R50,000, even though the retail price is between R180 and R450. As a result, Eskom lost R73,6 million. The transactions were kept below the R1 million threshold. Nkosi, a trustee of the Nkosi Royal Trust, Sibongukhanya Trust, and Siyabonga Kankosi Trust, allegedly benefitted from the use of these entities as conduits to launder Eskom’s money into properties and land in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga. The money was also used to purchase vehicles, including six Porsche vehicles and one Lamborghini.

View the post on X here:

South Africans react to the seizure

Netizens were pleased that the state seized the homes.

CertifiedEcoTourismDoyenne said:

“The money will be used to support our good General Mkhwanazi.”

Corruption Hater said:

“South Africa is a rich country with billions. Money is wasted on tender fraud and corruption, inflated parliament salaries, corruption in local government, illegal immigrants, and the leftovers go to the people.”

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Sipho said:

“I need people to understand how corruption is worse than murder because the effects of it destroy livelihoods.”

MJ said:

“People are just greedy. You can see that this person was just stealing the money, and he didn't even know what to do with it. Why would you pay for two properties in the same location?”

Lord Zuko observed:

“Lawyers and all companies that create trusts are accountable institutions and should be held accountable. Reasonable due diligence should have uncovered that these funds are dodgy.”

3 Briefly News articles about SIU investigations

• The SIU froze property linked to the late actor Presley Chweneyagae, who was implicated in a National Lotteries Commission corruption. Investigators alleged that Chweneyagae bought the property with money misappropriated from a R15 million grant from the NLC.
• The SIU also revealed that pastors Timothy Omotoso and Shepherd Bushiri had fraudulent permits. The SIU said that Bushiri’s Permanent Residence Permit was fraudulently approved, while Omotoso used a fraudulently obtained work permit to enter and remain in the country.
• The SIU exposed a syndicate in the Department of Home Affairs where officials allegedly enriched themselves. The officials received a total of R16.3 million by unlawfully issuing visas and residence permits.

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Source: Briefly News