Maumela bid stalls sale of R70m mansion

Share current article via EmailShare current article via FacebookShare current article via TwitterShare current article via LinkedInIsaac MahlanguSenior reporter

Opens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowEnter fullscreen mode displaying this image.ExpandOne of the four Lamborghinis that Hangwani Morgan Maumela is fighting to keep. Picture: Thapelo Morebudi Story audio is generated using AI

Controversial businessman Hangwani Morgan Maumela has launched a bid to stop the final seizure of his palatial R70m Sandton home, three months after the state was granted a final forfeiture order against him.

The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Asset Forfeiture Unit was granted a final forfeiture order worth R325m against Maumela by the high court in Johannesburg in July. The order covered several properties, including the Sandton mansion, which the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) had placed under preservation in October last year.

The NPA told the Sunday Times that it had received a rescission application from Maumela’s legal representatives last Friday.

“We will be expediting our response and any further processes to ensure that this application is concluded,” NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said.

The NPA had successfully argued in court that the assets were the proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the alleged R2bn looting of Tembisa Hospital.

Maumela’s Sandhurst mansion. The forfeiture followed an investigation stemming from a report by whistleblower Babita Deokaran, who had flagged suspicious payments at the hospital.

Deokaran was shot and killed outside her home in Winchester Hills, south of Joburg, on August 23, 2021, after flagging some of the suspects involved.

In July this year, the NPA said Maumela’s forfeited properties would be put up for sale, with proceeds returned to the Gauteng department of health.

The Sunday Times had asked the NPA why the assets, including the Sandton mansion, had still not been put up for sale three months later.

Kganyago said that shortly after the granting of the forfeiture application, “we were engaged by legal representatives for Maumela. They indicated an intention to appeal or to apply for a rescission.”

Hangwani Maumela. The multi-storey mansion in Sandhurst has 10 bedrooms, a car wash and a salon.

Other Maumela properties covered by the R325m forfeiture order include an R88m mansion in Bantry Bay, Cape Town, and a property at Zimbali Estate in KwaZulu-Natal.

Luxury vehicles, including four Lamborghinis and a Bentley, as well as a boat and trailer, were among the assets subject to forfeiture.

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