News24 | Hawks arrest DG, senior national health department officials

Department of Health Director-General Sandile Buthelezi was among those arrested by the Hawks on Monday.

Three senior officials from the national Department of Health were arrested on Monday morning, News24 has confirmed.

According to a spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations, also known as the Hawks, Colonel Katlego Mogale, the arrests were made as part of a serious corruption investigation in connection with fraud and theft.

News24 understands that, among those arrested, was the department’s director-general, Sandile Buthelezi.

Mogale would not give specific details on exactly why the officials were arrested or reveal their identities.

“The three... are set to appear in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court following an in-depth investigation since April 2024, where it is alleged that, in 2023, over R1 million was unduly awarded to a service provider in contravention of the Public Finance Management Act,” Mogale said in a statement on Monday.

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“The company of one of the suspects is also charged as the fifth juristic person, as the monies were paid to the company.”

The fourth suspect, Mogale said, was the director of the company who had yet to be taken into custody.

Arrested alongside Buthelezi were chief financial officer Phineas Phaswa Mamogale and a deputy director-general of the department, Dr Malixole Mahlathi. They have also been accused of theft and fraud.

The three have been granted bail of R10 000 each.

The case relates to the irregular awarding of more than R1 million, which was paid from a grant fund for an investigation into underspending in the same fund.

The court ordered that the accused may not enter the department’s head office.