By REGINALD KANYANE
26 October 2026 – Seven accused are facing 46 charges, including corruption, fraud, money laundering and contraventions of the Municipal Finance Management Act in connection with an alleged R144 million municipal land fraud and a separate social housing funding scheme worth more than R100 million in Mahikeng. The accused, Hendrik Smith, Petrus van der Merwe, Barbra van der Merwe, Sarel van Niekerk, Brian Moholo, Tshepiso Moholo and Reggie Mutsi, appeared before the Specialised Commercial Crime Court sitting at the Molopo Regional Court on 22 and 23 October 2026.
According to a joint statement by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the accused were arrested on 22 and 23 October 2026, by members of the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation and Crimes Against the State units. The first alleged scheme relates to the unlawful sale of municipal land valued at R144 million between 2007 and 2009.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson in North West, Lindiwe Mabasa said the state alleges that the first and second accused acted together to defraud the then Mahikeng Local Municipality through a sale agreement that required the purchaser to pay the full purchase price. Mabasa said, however, only R5 million was allegedly paid, leaving an outstanding balance of R139 million.
“Investigators allege that the R5 million payment was made through an unauthorised arrangement involving the accused and other parties, without the municipality’s knowledge or approval. The payment was allegedly part of an attempt to amend the original sale agreement and reduce the purchase price.
“In February 2009, the land was transferred after the first accused lodged an application with the Deeds Registry in Vryburg. The state alleges that the transfer proceeded despite the outstanding balance and without the necessary municipal authorisation,” she said.
Mabasa further said the second alleged scheme involves more than R100 million in social housing funding obtained from the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) between 2011 and 2013. She added that the NPA and Hawks allege that the second to seventh accused participated in a scheme to defraud the SHRA using the land acquired through the alleged municipal land fraud.
“The accused allegedly applied for more than R100 million in funding to construct social housing units in Mahikeng. The fifth accused, Brian Moholo, who was the SHRA chief executive officer (CEO) at the time, allegedly facilitated and authorised the process through which the funding was obtained.
“Investigations allegedly revealed that the intended housing units were never completed. Instead, only structures were erected, allegedly to conceal the true purpose of the scheme. The SHRA reportedly suffered financial losses exceeding R100 million.
“All seven accused were granted bail. Six were granted bail of R10 000 each, while the fifth accused, Moholo, was granted bail of R5 000. The matter was postponed to 7 December 2026, for further investigations,” said Mabasa.
“The allegations have yet to be tested in court,” she said.
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