Ex-NLC board member ordered to repay millions in misused funds
The SIU’s investigation, authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa under Proclamation R32 of 2020, uncovered an elaborate scheme through forensic audits and whistleblower tips.
South Africa.- The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has finally secured its first judgment to set aside grant funding in its ongoing investigations into corruption within the National Lotteries Commission (NLC). The judgment, delivered by the special tribunal, indicted William Huma, a former member of the NLC Board.
The special tribunal has ordered William Huma to repay R21,158,118 (€1.03m) in misappropriated grants awarded to two NGOs linked to him, Samaritan Initiative NPO and Reagile NPC, in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
The SIU’s investigation, authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa under Proclamation R32 of 2020, uncovered Huma’s elaborate scheme through forensic audits and whistleblower tips.
Samaritan Initiative NPO, registered in 2016 with the Department of Social Development (DSD) but dormant and non-compliant, received a R16.5 million (€804,243) grant in 2019.
The funds were meant for a chicken farming project in Marikana, North West, to create jobs and empower women and children in the Bojanala District, a region scarred by the 2012 miners’ massacre. However, the money was diverted to Silverlite Trading (Pty) Ltd, initially owned by Huma’s niece, Mpho Ntshole, who resigned as director in November 2021 when Huma became the sole director. The farm, now dilapidated, saw equipment looted, leaving no community benefits.
Reagile NPC, acquired as a shelf company on March 6, 2020, was granted R4.658 million (€227,019) in 2021 for a hydroponic vegetable farming project in Lekgalong, North West, to create jobs and supply produce. Directed by Huma’s then-girlfriend (now wife), Lorato Moyo Huma, and his nephew, the project was inexplicably funded under the NLC’s Arts, Culture and Heritage sector. However, it produced nothing; no jobs, no crops. A source told GroundUp that Huma and Moyo controlled finances, leaving other directors unemployed, uninformed and now under SIU scrutiny.
Both organisations were allegedly “hijacked” or set up on Huma’s advice to secure grants, which were funnelled through multiple NPOs, including Mbidzo NPO, Matieni Community Centre and Thwala Front, into the BDH Family Trust, where he is a trustee
The SIU identified 39 suspicious transactions totalling R10 million (€487,355), including payments to Huma’s accounts and the bond for his Waterkloof mansion. A R20 million (€974,710) grant to Matieni in 2017 meant for an old-age home, partly funded a Rustenburg luxury estate, later converted into a boutique hotel owned by Huma’s BDH Group (Pty) Ltd.
However, in the court proceedings, Huma claimed he wasn’t involved in grant approvals and received no benefits, but three witnesses testified he advised applications, and a clear paper trail linked funds to his relatives’ entities.
Presiding judge Margie Victor dismissed his defences as “bald, obtuse and unmeritorious,” stating that as a legally trained advocate, Huma “must have been aware” his actions breached constitutional prescripts. The judge further condemned Huma’s “egregious, negligent and dishonest” conduct, citing violations of the Lotteries Act and fiduciary duties.
Huma faces bankruptcy, assets to be auctioned
Huma resigned from the NLC in late 2022 after evidence of his financial irregularities surfaced. He has now been ordered to repay R21.2 million with punitive legal costs, including senior counsel fees. Assets tied to NLC funds, including R10 million from his Waterkloof property sale, Farm Zwartkoppies 296 and the Rustenburg boutique hotel, are preserved and set for auction, with proceeds to be redirected to the NLC.
While Huma has launched an appeal against the Waterkloof preservation order, the tribunal’s ruling stands. This landmark judgment stems from an SIU probe triggered by a whistleblower and amplified by GroundUp’s investigative journalism, which exposed a pattern of insider abuse that has eroded public trust.
According to SIU’s spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago, the case is one in a list of 18 review applications filed by the unit, targeting NLC grants valued at R320.79 million (€15.6m). He added that more applications were forthcoming, as the SIU continues its efforts to recover misappropriated funds. With an estimated R5 billion (€234.6m) in past loot, the NLC scandal reveals systemic corruption and a failure of governance, compromising the organisation’s mission to fund vital arts, sports and charity initiatives.
