By Johnathan Paoli
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has asked the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to launch an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of R2 billion from the City of Ekurhuleni’s coffers.
The scandal has escalated dramatically following the tragic murder of the municipality’s head of forensic audits, Mpho Mafole.
According to the DA Ekurhuleni caucus leader, Brandon Pretorius, Mafole was on the verge of exposing a multi-billion-rand corruption ring involving tampered electricity accounts, which allowed certain users to pay drastically reduced rates or bypass the billing system altogether.
“The DA believes Mafole’s murder may be directly linked to his role in investigating the missing funds. It is imperative that the SIU investigates this case thoroughly. Whistleblowers cannot become collateral damage while the corrupt act with impunity,” Pretorius said.
This, he said, had cost Ekurhuleni taxpayers over R2 billion.
Mafole, a key figure in the city’s internal investigation into alleged electricity billing fraud, was gunned down in a suspected hit on Monday, 30 June.
The 43-year-old auditor was found dead in his vehicle on the R23 in Kempton Park after being sprayed with bullets in what sources describe as a professional assassination.
The DA’s intervention follows revelations that Mafole had recently compiled a charge sheet implicating a suspended official believed to be part of a wider criminal syndicate within the municipality.
The charge sheet was reportedly submitted just days before his murder.
Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, speaking at Mafole’s funeral over the weekend, said the city had lost a man of integrity and hinted at a possible link between his murder and the financial scandal.
“We don’t want to draw conclusions, but if you are involved in this kind of work and you get shot, it can’t be a random event,” Xhakaza said.
The Gauteng police have launched a murder investigation, but the motive remains officially unconfirmed.
Gauteng provincial police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed that Mafole was found with multiple gunshot wounds and that the shooter(s) remain at large.
This case has drawn parallels with the 2021 assassination of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, who was gunned down outside her Johannesburg home after exposing corruption related to Covid-19 PPE procurement at Tembisa Hospital, also within Ekurhuleni.
Six men have since been sentenced for Deokaran’s murder, but the masterminds behind the hit remain at large.
Pretorius stressed that public servants dedicated to fighting corruption should not have to live in fear.
“We cannot allow a culture of silence enforced by violence to thrive in our public institutions. The safety of those uncovering wrongdoing must be guaranteed,” he said.
Xhakaza, in response to growing concerns, has written to National Commissioner of the police, General Fannie Masemola, requesting a full investigation into a series of recent attacks on senior municipal officials.
In addition to pursuing the SIU probe, the DA has vowed to monitor the investigation closely and push for legislative safeguards to protect whistle-blowers and investigators.
The City of Ekurhuleni has pledged full cooperation with law enforcement.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by Mpho’s murder,” the city said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring that justice is served and that the perpetrators are brought to book.”
As pressure mounts for accountability and justice, the DA insists that rooting out corruption in Ekurhuleni must remain a top priority.
“The integrity of our democratic society depends on it. Let us honour Mafole’s legacy by ensuring the truth comes to light and those responsible are held accountable, both for the theft of public funds and for his murder,” Pretorius said.
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