Murder and missing millions haunt KZN community hall upgrade

Slain former ANC Youth League secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa would turn in his grave to hear that the budget for a community hall upgrade he opposed — and which ultimately cost him his life — has ballooned from R1.4m to R53m.

Magaqa died after being shot in July 2017, allegedly for questioning why so little work had been done on refurbishing the Umzimkhulu Memorial Hall in KwaZulu-Natal after millions of rands had been paid to contractors.

The contract to give the hall a facelift was awarded in 2012, but by 2017 costs had escalated to R16m and the work was still incomplete.

The municipality told the Sunday Times this week that the final cost would be R53m and the project was expected to be completed by the end of next month.

Magaqa, who was an Umzimkhulu municipal councillor, had demanded accountability on the project.

His close friend Thabiso Zulu said Magaqa had called for an internal investigation and openly claimed that corruption was rife in Umzimkhulu.

Zulu also testified at the Moerane commission of inquiry tasked with investigating political killings in KwaZulu-Natal. The commission found in 2018 that there was overwhelming evidence that the tender system was the “root cause of politicians’ murders, and it was manipulated by politicians and public officials in collusion with business people”.

Former public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane launched a probe into the spiralling project costs and Magaqa’s death in 2018. She found building and tender irregularities.

According to the public protector’s 2018 report:

• A tender for the hall upgrade was awarded to Loyiso Consulting on August 21 2012 for R1,338,190.
• On November 15 2013 the municipality awarded another tender to Loyiso Consulting for R17.9m over a period of 18 months. The project was not completed, and the contractor was alleged to have abandoned the project. It was further alleged that the director of Loyiso Consulting, Loyiso Magqaza, was involved in a romantic relationship with a senior municipal official.
• When Loyiso Consulting abandoned the project in 2014/15, it ceded the rights to Sfiso Building Contractors, who were already the contractors on site, and asked the municipality to pay them the remaining R15m of the contract. They, however, also abandoned the project without completion.
• On March 4 2016 Buyeye Consulting was awarded another tender by the municipality at a cost of R14m for a period of 10 months. At the end of the contract, the project was still incomplete, and the expenditure had ballooned to R37.9m.

Umzimkhulu communications head Willie Mgcina said the municipality did not have an adequate CBD-based community hall in which they could congregate for events.

“Using the nearby township community hall caused logistical strain for the municipality, so it is with this in mind that the council took an approach to refurbish, renovate and build on Umzimkhulu Memorial Hall,” he said.

Mgcina said this internally funded project was finally due to be completed in October 2025, but due to “unforeseen challenges” the timeline was extended to June.

He said the construction amount was R53.6m.

“Some of the challenges faced by this project are that it is funded internally at about R10m per annum, which negatively affects the desired timeline. The project progressed at a slow pace due to Amafa compliance demands [for culturally protected buildings under national heritage laws] and other unforeseen technical issues; concerns are constantly raised with the service providers. Specialised subcontractors expect to be paid upfront, and the main contractor took strain from those expectations,” he said.

He did not respond to questions about whether action had been taken against the contractors who abandoned the project despite receiving millions of rands.

In the wake of Magaqa’s killing, former Umzimkhulu municipal manager Zweliphansi Skhosana; Harry Gwala district mayor Mluleki Ndobe; businessman Mbulelo Mpofana; two former tactical response team members, Mlungisi Ncalane and Sbonelo Myeza; and two hitmen, Sgora Mdunge and Sbusiso Ncengwa, were arrested and charged with his murder.

Charges against Ndobe were withdrawn, and he died in November 2020. Reports indicated that he had been battling with cancer and died by suicide.

Mdunge died in a shootout with police.

In July last year, Ncengwa was sentenced to 35 years in prison after he pleaded guilty.

The trial of Myeza, Mpofana and Skhosana is scheduled in the Pietermaritzburg high court from Tuesday to June 12. The three face charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, along with other charges.

Myeza and Mpofana are out on bail while Skhosana remains in custody following an unsuccessful bail application.

While the criminal case goes on, the search for the masterminds behind the hit took a dramatic twist when police arrested National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams on May 5.

Adams was arrested by the political killings task team on three charges of fraud and two of defeating the ends of justice.

The state claims he attempted to manipulate the hitman’s confession and misrepresented himself to police and prison officials to falsely implicate crime intelligence head Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo in Magaqa’s killing.

In January, an undercover crime intelligence officer, Witness E, told the Madlanga commission that crime intelligence members were involved in Magaqa’s murder.

Zulu said that, starting in 2020, he wrote several times to the former head of the National Prosecuting Authority, Shamila Batohi, and former Hawks head Gen Godfrey Lebeya, asking for updates on the case.

“After writing to them every six months I started to write to them every three months, later every month, every week and every day. Advocate Batohi only answered me after five years,” he said.

Zulu said Magaqa was killed by the state, adding that he would not rest until justice was served.

He said for the state to prove that it wants to solve Magaqa’s murder, it must arrest people who procured and hired a car through a police crime intelligence slush fund.

“An AK-47 was procured by the state, a car was procured by the state, SAPS members were involved during the time of carrying out the hit; they accompanied or shadowed the fellows who assassinated Magaqa,” he said.

Sunday Times