News24 | Controversial Modise retains leadership of ANC Greater Tshwane region amid DA’s fraud case

Tshwane deputy mayor and MMC for Finance, Eugene Modise, has been appointed as the ANC’s Greater Tshwane Region chairperson.

• Eugene “Bonzo” Modise, who faces fraud charges related to a R300m City contract, has been re-elected as the chairperson of the ANC’s Greater Tshwane Region chairperson.
• The DA filed a complaint alleging that Modise’s non-disclosure of ties to a City contractor caused multimillion-rand losses.
• Modise’s former company secured four multimillion-rand security contracts while he was an influential ANC figure in Tshwane.

Embattled City of Tshwane deputy mayor and finance MMC Eugene “Bonzo” Modise was re-elected as the ANC’s Greater Tshwane Region chairperson in a midnight election over the weekend.

The Greater Tshwane Region held its 12th conference at the Velmore Hotel and Spa in Pretoria.

Modise, who is the deputy to ActionSA mayor Nasiphi Moyo and faces fraud charges over a multimillion-rand contract, was elected unopposed.

Tlangi Mogale, who serves as the Roads and Transport MMC in the City of Tshwane, was elected as the deputy chairperson, defeating Aaron Maluleka.

Meanwhile, George Matjila retained his position as the regional secretary, Sam Mashola will be his deputy, and James Shelenge will be the treasurer.

Matjila was also re-elected unopposed.

The DA laid a fraud and corruption complaint against Modise in early December. This followed a confidential forensic report that contained a finding that he failed to disclose his relationship with a City contractor in breach of the Municipal Systems Act.

News24 exposed in November that the forensic report found Modise may have illegally benefitted from a company that received a security contract worth R300 million from the City of Tshwane.

READ | Tshwane deputy mayor faces fraud charge over multimillion-rand contract

The DA’s complaint, compiled with the assistance of AfriForum’s private prosecutions unit, relates to Modise allegedly withholding information, misrepresenting his interests to derive undue benefit, failing to declare material interests, and all this prejudiced the City to the tune of millions of rands in irregular expenditure.

But it was not the first time Modise’s name was in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

In May, News24 reported that a company formerly owned by Modise had secured tenders worth at least R2 million from municipalities run by the ANC.

It was established at the time that Triotic Protection Services, in which Modise was a sole director and shareholder until February 2023, had scored lucrative security contracts at the ANC-run Madibeng Municipality in the North West and Lephalale Municipality in Limpopo.

The Madibeng and Lephalale tenders, valued at R75 million and R44 million, respectively, bring Triotic’s total number of multimillion-rand security contracts with municipalities and government departments to four.

READ | Tshwane ANC leader’s former company scores tenders worth R119m from ANC councils

The other two contracts exposed by the DA in February are with the City of Tshwane and the Gauteng Department of Health. In May 2023, the department awarded Triotic a R49-million contract to guard five clinics in Tshwane.

The City appointed Triotic to a panel of security service providers in February 2022.

When all four contracts were awarded, Modise was an influential politician, holding key positions in the ANC in the Tshwane region.

When the company received the contracts from Lephalale, the Department of Health in Gauteng and Madibeng, in September 2022, May and November 2023, respectively, Modise was the ANC’s chairperson in the Tshwane region.

At the time, Modise also told News24 he had sold all his interests in the company.

He was first elected to the position in June 2022, which improved his political fortunes and elevated him to an influential power broker. Modise became a councillor in Tshwane in February 2023.