Katleho Mokonyane, the 34-year-old daughter of ANC First Deputy Secretary-General and former Cabinet minister Nomvula Mokonyane, together with her business partner Bonelela “Buzza” Mgudlwa (43), has been ordered by South Africa’s Special Tribunal to personally repay more than R14 million from irregular COVID-19 PPE contracts awarded by the Mpumalanga Department of Health in 2020.
On 25 March 2026, Special Tribunal Judge David Makhoba ruled that the two contracts granted to their company, Tark Group Pty Ltd (previously known as Tuwo Rhodesia), were unlawful, constitutionally invalid, and void from the start.
The tribunal pierced the corporate veil due to findings of fraudulent and dishonest conduct, holding both individuals personally liable and requiring them to cover the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) legal costs.
The Mpumalanga Department of Health paid R13,297,500 for medical jumpsuits and R1,080,000 for 60,000 surgical masks, totaling over R14.3 million. The SIU highlighted serious irregularities, including the absence of competitive bidding, the bypassing of required bid committees, a lack of South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) accreditation for the supplier at the time, and the failure to disclose conflicts of interest such as Katleho Mokonyane’s family ties to a high-ranking ANC official and Mgudlwa’s prior employment with SAA Express Airways.
The Mpumalanga department did not oppose the SIU’s application.
Through their lawyers, the pair has indicated they intend to challenge the judgment via review or appeal in the High Court.
Mgudlwa, a lawyer and a member of the AbaThembu royal family, is married to broadcaster Anele Mdoda. The company had previously faced scrutiny over a Gauteng soap tender involving alleged overcharging.
This ruling is part of the SIU’s broader efforts under Proclamation R23 of 2020 to recover public funds lost to irregular pandemic procurement across provinces, amid ongoing concerns about tender irregularities and conflicts of interest in emergency spending.
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