Arthur Mafokate loses case in court
Arthur Mafokate is not able to protect his properties as he lost court case after siphoning government funds.
In 2023, it was reported that the properties of the businessman were seized following a corruption scandal of over R56 million.
Zimoja said that he failed to save his guest house in Midrand after it was attached by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeit Unit
The SIU said five non-profit organisations (NPOs) received grant funding of about R56.8m from the National Lotteries Fund (NLF) for community development projects in the country, including Arthur’s NPO called South African Art and Development Association (SAADA).
Money was paid to Arthur’s company, and court papers revealed that the money was used to purchase a guest house worth R7,5m in 2016 while some of it was paid into Arthur’s home loans.
Mafokate argues in court papers that he was entitled to the R7.5 million as his businesses delivered the services as required by the NLC and that he had committed no offences.
“However, the NPA argued that although some kinds of services were rendered, it was at most R1.8 million. The remainder of the funds were used to purchase the guest house, which was not the purpose of the grant allocation,” NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.
The court also found that Arthur Mafokate could not give a good explanation on how he could afford to purchase the guest house if it were not for NLC funds, particularly as his business accounts contained negligible balances when the grant was received from the NLC.
“Therefore, the court dismissed, with costs, the application of Arthur Mafokate to have the guest house released from the preservation order,’ she said.
