- Tembisa’s retired mother, “don” Hangwani Morgan Maumela, dropped R30 million on two flats in Sea Point the same day.
- Maumela, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s nephew by marriage, secured R381 million in contracts from the Gauteng health department through a network of 12 companies.
- A News24 investigation titled Silenced has shown that other tender businessmen with ties to Maumela also made millions from East Rand Hospital.
Mboneni Maumela, a retired elderly mother of Tembisa Hospital tender magnate Hangwani Morgan Maumela, splurged R30 million on two Sea Point apartments, raising the value of the family’s property portfolio to more than R310 million. of rand.
On the same day in March this year, the 66-year-old became the owner of units 49 and 133 in the luxury Twin Towers block, overlooking the Atlantic coastline and flanked by the Sea Point promenade. Each unit cost R14.5 million, according to deed office records.
While the source of her wealth is unknown, the former civil servant appears to be backed by her son who, along with his cousin Aluwani Maumela, raised R381m in Gauteng state hospital contracts in three years, and 93% of her heyday is coming. of Tembisa.
News24 previously reported that slain whistleblower Babita Deokaran had singled out 12 entities controlled by members of the Maumela family, with Hangwani as head of nine and his cousin, Aluwani, in charge of three others.
Our investigation detailed how she, prior to her murder, had tried to stop payments of R36 million to these entities. These companies have direct links to Maumela. His links with other businessmen were more difficult to find.
A News24 investigation has now established links between Hangwani Maumela and other tender businessmen through a web of little-known entities and opaque trusts. Four people, through 10 companies in business with the embattled East Rand hospital, secured R23 million in contracts.
Nephew by marriage of President Cyril Ramaphosa and associate of his top political adviser Bejani Chauke, the politically connected Maumela is at the center of the Tembisa Hospital scandal.
Location, location, location
On March 5 this year, Mboneni Maumela bought two units in the same block, just one year after retiring from the Limpopo health department, where she held the position of Director of Public Health.
The Twin Towers block at Sea Point.
The Twin Towers is described as one of the most sought after locations in the heart of Sea Point and has a 24 hour concierge.
Deed office records also reveal that Mboneni Maumela bought a vacant position at Bendor Park, Polokwane, for R457 275 in mid-2016.
Satellite imagery shows significant construction on a large three-story building, which began in 2019. The house now appears to be complete.
Satellite images showing the transformation of a vacant position into a luxurious house, owned by Mboneni Maumela.
Beyond these properties with deeds in her name, the former official is a trustee of the MHR Maumela Family Trust, along with her son Hangwani and daughter Rumani Maumela, a vehicle through which palatial homes were purchased in Zimbali, on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal. , Hyde Park and Sandhurst in Johannesburg, as well as Bantry Bay and Camps Bay in Cape Town in just five years.
READ | From Camps Bay to Zimbali: Inside Tembisa’s tender Don Don’s R280m property bonanza
The purchase of these luxurious properties and the Limpopo construction project coincides with the period when the companies controlled by Maumela and her relative saw a rush of business, predominantly from Tembisa Hospital. He has previously refused to answer questions about his business.
a family affair
Hangwani’s sister, Rumani Maumela, 30, is also a trustee of the Odaori Family Trust, which was formed last year. Another trustee on the list is Lucinda Barriel, who is the sole director of three entities that were red-flagged by Deokaran.
Carington Trading Enterprise, Fourteen O Nine Trading Enterprise and Twenty Six O Four Trading Enterprise were due to receive payment of R11.83 million for the Tembisa Hospital tenders.
According to information from the Intellectual Property and Companies Commission, the companies operate out of a house in Ennerdale, south of Johannesburg. News24 visited the property this week, where a woman who identified herself only as “Lucinda’s brother’s girlfriend” said Barriel no longer lived there. She said that she had no knowledge of his business.
A house in Ennerdale, which is the business address of three little-known companies that were suppliers to Tembisa Hospital.
Repeated attempts to contact Barriel by phone were unsuccessful. Questions sent via WhatsApp were blocked. There was no response at the time of publication.
financial security
Another businessman with ties to Maumela is the head of the security company Vusimuzi Matlala. He also had three companies in trade with Tembisa Hospital, also designated by Deokaran for closer scrutiny, which secured R4.4 million worth of contracts in a single month.
Matlala and Maumela had a shared interest in the Pretoria-based security company called Cat Protection and Security which, according to its website, caters to high-end clients looking for close bodyguards and protectors.
In September 2017, Maumela was appointed director of this company. Four days later, she resigned and was replaced by Matlala.
The tenderprenuer website.
News24 identified 12 individual contracts awarded to the Matlala companies of Mamelodi and Tembisa hospitals in the space of two weeks in July 2021. Eleven of these deals were apparently illegal, as neither entity had a license to sell the devices. doctors. This is a criminal offence, according to the South African Medical Devices Regulatory Authority.
READ | How Tembisa Hospital’s R500k skinny jeans supplier and shell corporation bosses blew up the cooperative
Matlala also has a criminal record for breaking and entering dating back to 2001, raising questions about how he was appointed as a director of the company, as the conviction is conclusive. Questions were sent to Matlala and he did not reply.
the web grows
Another businesswoman linked to Maumela is the former employee of the Gauteng Department of Electronic Government, Tebogo Segobodi, who, like the others, was the sole director of three companies.
One company, Barnjo Trading and Suppliers, was owed R5.9 million in Tembisa payments that Deokaran stopped. Two other companies she controls, Tebogo Medical Suppliers and Atang Medical Suppliers, share the same business address as seven of Maumela’s companies: a residential unit in a Fourways development.
Attempts to contact Segobodi were unsuccessful.
Down
Detailed questions were put to lawyer Nabeela Moola, who acts for the Maumela family. Primarily, News24 inquired about Mboneni Maumela’s source of income, whether cash from the Gauteng health department was used to pay for her property, and the relationship between Hangwani Maumela and others in the network.
In response, he said: “We do not wish to compromise the integrity of any investigation that may be ongoing in relation to our client, nor do we intend to litigate through the media.”
Ramaphosa, through his spokesman Vincent Magwenya, has previously distanced himself from Maumela, insisting the couple never met and are not in a relationship.
