SIU blocks pension payout to former NLC official over R31 million lottery grant scandal
The action follows SIU findings of former Client Liaison Officer SiboneloVilakazi diverting lottery funds for himself and his spouse.
South Africa.- The Special Tribunal has granted a preservation order blocking a R500,000 (€26,000) pension payout to former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) Client Liaison Officer Sibonelo Vilakazi as part of an ongoing corruption investigation that has uncovered alleged large-scale misappropriation of public grant funds.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) secured the order in December 2025, with details made public last week. The action follows SIU investigators’ findings of what they describe as extensive abuse of Vilakazi’s official position to divert millions of rands in lottery grant money for personal gain and for the benefit of his spouse, Nosipho Zanele Zuma.
According to statements from the SIU and public records, between 2019 and 2023, more than 400 early childhood development centres, crèches and football clubs that received National Lotteries Commission grants subsequently made payments – nearly R31.2m (€1.6m) in total – into bank accounts linked to Vilakazi and his wife’s company, ZZET Enterprises.
The SIU alleges that the funds, originally intended to support community and sporting projects, were instead channelled through ZZET Enterprises via 48 separate payments and used to acquire luxury items for the couple, including two Toyota Quantums, a Toyota Hilux and at least two properties.
The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) flagged these transactions as suspicious after they were reported by one of the banks, prompting the SIU to launch a deeper investigation. Earlier preservation orders were issued in 2023 to freeze around R2.4m (€124,800) in bank accounts connected to the couple.
Vilakazi was dismissed in 2024 following a disciplinary inquiry by the NLC that found him guilty of multiple charges, including abuse of office and failing to disclose conflicts of interest relating to his wife’s receipt of grant-derived funds.
The SIU has emphasised that freezing pension and other retirement benefits is part of its strategy to safeguard public funds and ensure assets potentially derived from corrupt activities remain available for recovery through civil litigation.
The investigation into the NLC and related entities continues, with authorities seeking to recover misallocated funds and hold accountable those implicated in schemes that diverted resources earmarked for social and community development into private hands.
