A farm outside Ermelo in Mpumalanga was bought for R10.5m and sold on to the government just a few minutes later for R36m.
The staggering R25.5m mark-up will take centre stage when the trial of former state security minister Bongani Bongo and others gets under way in the Mbombela commercial crimes court in Mpumalanga on Tuesday. They are facing 69 counts of fraud, theft, corruption, and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.
A second land deal in eEmalahleni, using the same modus operandi, saw a farm bought for R15m and sold on to the human settlements department for R37.5m, also allegedly shortly thereafter.
Bongo, who was head of legal services in the provincial human settlements department at the time of the deals in 2011, was “the key player in the two land deals”, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The deals involved two “middlemen companies” buying the farmland and then selling it on to the province on the same day.
Bongo’s former wife Sandile Nkosi and his younger brother Sipho Bongo are among the accused.
Bongo was appointed state security minister by then president Jacob Zuma in October 2017. He was fired from cabinet in February 2018 by incoming president Cyril Ramaphosa.
The land deals were first raised with the municipality and later reported to the public protector. Bongo was arrested in 2020.
Anthony Benadie, who was the DA leader in Mpumalanga at the time, told the Sunday Times that the Ermelo land deal saw “individuals enriching themselves through dodgy and outright corrupt property dealing, involving double ownership transfers on a single day”.
According to the 82-page charge sheet, Bongo scored two payments, amounting to R300,000 each, for a BMW X5, which was registered in his brother's name, from the proceeds of the land sale.
Nkosi, who was Bongo’s wife at the time of the land deals, allegedly scored a R1m payment from the proceeds of the deals, according to the charge sheet.
Bongo this week told the Sunday Times he was ready to go to trial and would plead not guilty. “I will, however, not get into the merits as we will ventilate these in court on Tuesday.”
He believes the case against him is “politically motivated”.
Looking at the charges, I realise that this (case) is politically motivated as the charges have nothing to do with me
— Bongani Bongo
“Looking at the charges, I realise that this (case) is politically motivated as the charges have nothing to do with me,” Bongo said.
The land in Rietspruit, Ermelo, was acquired on behalf of the Msukaligwa Local Municipality for human settlement purposes while land bought in Naauwpoort, for the eEmalahleni Local Municipality, was to be used for the same purpose.
The state alleges that two middlemen companies, Little River Trading 156 and Bongiveli CC, were unlawfully introduced into the scheme, which saw the Mpumalanga department of human settlements paying almost R50m more than they were worth in the two controversial transactions.
The two companies used the department’s funds, allegedly with the help of conveyancers, to acquire the farms and sell them on to the department at twice the price.
According to the NPA, Bongo played a central role in the appointment of law firm Singwane and Partners, which conducted conveyancing services on behalf of the department when the two farms were acquired.
The department’s former head, David Dube, is among those charged with Bongo after he allegedly received R400,000 from the proceeds of the transactions, according to the charge sheet.
The charge sheet states that the payments went towards the purchase of a Mercedes- Benz that Dube later used as a trade-in deposit when he acquired a R1.2m Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG.
Other accused include Singwane and Partners and its director Mduduzi Singwane. Private companies Little River Trading 156, its director Roert Burwise; Broad Market Trading 204 and its director Sizwakhendaba Dhlamini; Bongiveli CC and its director Vusi Magagula; Nkgalema Properties and its representative Sandile Nkosi; and Pfuka Afrika and its directors Elmond Mdaka and Sibongile Mdaka have also been charged.
Bongo, allegedly through his brother Sipho, benefited from proceeds of unlawful activities after the law firm appointed for conveyancing services made two R300,000 payments towards the purchase of a BMW X5 at BMW Northcliff Auto.
The charge sheets stated that the vehicle was registered in Sipho’s name, but was “a benefit” for Bongo.
Sipho Bongo has also been charged for money laundering after a R300,000 down- payment was made by Singwane on April 14 2011 for an Audi RS5 that was registered in his name.
Nkosi received R1m from Singwane despite having no business relations with the company.
Other accused and entities scored payments ranging from R250,000 to R4.6m from proceeds of land sales between April and June 2011.
Mpumalanga NPA spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said Bongo was the key player in the two land deals in that he “recommended the appointment of Singwane attorneys as conveyancers for the department during the purchasing of these farms”.
Nyuswa said the NPA was “ready to proceed” with the trial on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times visited Ermelo and found the Rietspruit land is only now being developed, more than a decade after it was purchased.
The municipality is installing underground stormwater, sewerage and water infrastructure. The streets of the new township, which will house more than 4,700 mixed-income households, are also being constructed.
Msukaligwa municipal spokesperson Mandla Zwane said the land, which will be known as Ermelo Ext 44, with an initial 2,168 stands, was being developed jointly by the department and the municipality.
“Financial constraints and legislative requirements such as the environmental affect assessments and applications to the SA National Road Agency are the main reasons for delays,” Zwane said.
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