Court dismisses Arthur Mafokate's bid to have property unfrozen

Last year, the National Prosecuting Authority's Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) obtained a preservation order to freeze Mafokate's La Villa Rosa guest house in Midrand.

The case relates to five non-profit organisations which received funding of approximately R56 million for community development projects.

One of the organisations, the South African Art and Development Association, linked to the Kwaito legend, applied for grant funding to assist unemployed youth in the poor and rural areas.

In court, Mafokate argued 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 services were rendered, it was at most R1.8 million. 

"The remainder of the funds was used to purchase the guest house, which was not the purpose of the grant allocation," said NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana

"The funds used to purchase the guest house were thus stolen from the NLC as it was not used for the allocated project.

"The court also found that Arthur Mafokate could give no reasonable explanation on how he could afford to purchase the guest house if it was not for NLC funds, particularly as his business accounts contained negligible balances when the grant was received from the NLC," she added.

Last year, the SIU also obtained a preservation order for properties linked to renowned actress Terry Pheto and former national lotteries executives.

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