Johannesburg – A 37-year-old businessman has been arrested at OR Tambo International Airport in connection with the long-running investigation into alleged tender fraud at Tembisa Hospital.
According to News24, the businessman was arrested on Friday as investigators continued probing alleged irregular procurement involving the Gauteng hospital.
The arrest is linked to the notorious R498,000 contract for 200 pairs of skinny jeans, which were reportedly intended for girls aged six to seven. The deal worked out to about R2,500 per pair. The Citizen previously reported that the purchase was among transactions flagged by murdered whistleblower Babita Deokaran before her assassination in August 2021.
The jeans deal has become one of the most striking examples of the alleged procurement abuses at Tembisa Hospital. The hospital’s then-CEO, Ashley Mthunzi, previously denied that the money had been spent on jeans, claiming it was the result of an administrative error and that the payment was actually for surgical material.
Allegations
The Citizen reported that Mthunzi could not explain why the purchase description specifically referred to jeans for girls aged six to seven.
The broader investigation has uncovered allegations of a sophisticated procurement network operating through multiple companies.
In July, Sowetan reported that investigators had identified 14 companies allegedly linked to businessman Hangwani Maumela and his family. According to an affidavit used in an asset-forfeiture application, purchase orders were allegedly split into amounts below R500,000 to avoid the competitive bidding process.
“The payments were purportedly for the supply of goods including medical equipment. The payments were just below the R500,000 threshold,” the affidavit stated.
The investigation also found allegations of fraudulent B-BBEE and tax-compliance documents, as well as so-called “cover quotations” allegedly used to create the appearance of competition between suppliers.
Significant development
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been investigating allegations of corruption and maladministration linked to Tembisa Hospital procurement. The probe follows concerns first raised by Deokaran, who had identified suspicious payments involving numerous suppliers before she was murdered.
The scandal has since resulted in the seizure and forfeiture of assets linked to alleged wrongdoing. The South African government said in July that a court had ordered the permanent forfeiture of luxury assets worth about R325 million linked to Maumela.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi welcomed the order but said the asset recovery process was only the beginning.
“We implore the Assets Forfeiture Unit to expedite the recovery process,” Motsoaledi said, while calling on law-enforcement agencies to complete the arrests and criminal prosecutions of those allegedly involved.
The latest arrest at OR Tambo represents a significant development in a scandal that has exposed serious questions about procurement controls at Tembisa Hospital and the alleged diversion of public funds meant for healthcare.
The investigation remains ongoing, and those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
