South African MPs accuse police of dragging feet in R2bn NLC corruption investigation
ACDP MP Wayne Thring said the delays since the investigation intensified in 2020 had allowed suspects time to deploy delaying tactics.
South Africa.- The South African Police Service (SAPS) and its elite Hawks unit have come under scrutiny after failing to attend a parliamentary hearing on March 24 2026, where MPs expected updates on criminal investigations into corruption at the National Lotteries Commission (NLC). Their absence has intensified concerns that delays within SAPS are slowing efforts to bring NLC-related corruption cases to court.
Instead, officials from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) appeared before Parliament and detailed progress on the long-running probe. The SIU is investigating more than R2bn (€102.5m) in lottery grants awarded between 2014 and 2020, which are suspected to have been diverted through non-profit organisations and trusts linked to former NLC executives, board members and their families.
Committee Secretary Andre Hermans told MPs he attempted to confirm SAPS attendance but received no response. The session had already been postponed from January, further deepening frustration among lawmakers, who later called on Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and National Police Commissioner General Sehlahle Masemola to account for the repeated absence and the slow pace of police investigations.
NPA officials told the committee that a major bottleneck in prosecutions is the Hawks’ failure to appoint forensic accountants required to analyse complex financial records. Nkebe Kanyane from the NPA told the committee that a firm had been identified a year earlier, but internal supply-chain issues at the Hawks delayed the appointment. Kanyane noted: “We have now been given undertakings that by April it will be done, and we are hoping that will be so.”
The SIU told MPs it has completed two phases of its investigation. The first covered R279.7m (€14.2m) in grants, while the second examined R246.6m (€12.6m). A third phase, involving R950.9m (€48.5m), is expected to be finalised by the end of June 2026, while a fourth and final phase — covering 690 matters — is scheduled for completion by March 31 2027.
Leonard Lekgetho, Acting Head of the SIU, detailed how officials and board members allegedly collaborated with non-profit organisations to redirect funds intended for community development projects. Many of these entities were reportedly controlled by or linked to individuals close to former NLC Chair Alfred Nevhutanda, former Chief Operations Officer Philemon Letwaba, former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and Board Member William Huma.
Only 25 cases have so far been referred by the SIU to the NPA for prosecution. Of these, the Hawks are handling 14, but only two cases have reached court in Kimberley, resulting in one conviction and sentence to date.
MPs expressed strong frustration at the slow progress. ACDP MP Wayne Thring said the delays since the investigation intensified in 2020 had allowed suspects time to deploy delaying tactics. DA MP Toby Chance described the situation as “blatant theft” of funds intended for poor and marginalised communities.
