A 50-year-old former deputy director of finance at South Africa's Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, Grace Mokoka, has been arrested by the Hawks in Mpumalanga on allegations of fraud involving funds intended to support a community land restitution project. Mokoka was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison for paying nearly R3 million for work that was never done. She was arrested on a warrant in connection with a case registered in Nelspruit in 2018.
The investigation stems from a land restitution project involving the Ingogo Communal Property Association (CPA), which successfully lodged a land claim in 2018. Following the restoration of the land to the community, the CPA sought assistance from the Department to acquire farming and firefighting equipment. It is alleged that the project was exploited through a fraudulent scheme in which an invoice was submitted by MPG Mash Trading (Pty) Ltd for services that were never rendered.
Mokoka, who was employed as Deputy Director of Finance at the time, allegedly irregularly approved a payment of R1,358,440 to the company without services being rendered and without following the required procurement processes. The investigation further revealed that the company's director, Mduduzi Mashwama, allegedly submitted the invoice after being approached by Sikhumbuzo Nkosi, who had been appointed as project manager by Godfrey Mchunu, a departmental project officer.
Mchunu and Nkosi were arrested in connection with the matter in 2025. Mashwama has also been charged in his personal capacity and as a representative of the company. Nkosi and Mokoka were previously sentenced to 10 years' direct imprisonment in separate but similar matters. They were both released on parole when they were arrested in this case.
Mokoka appeared before the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, where she was granted R1,000 bail. The matter was postponed to October 26, when she will join her co-accused, who were also released on R1,000 bail each. The Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime Investigation is conducting the investigation.
Mokoka was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison for paying suppliers nearly R3 million for work that had not been done. The Nelspruit Magistrate's Court handed down the sentence to 46-year-old Mokoka and her two accomplices, Zenzele Mncwango, 52, and Sikhumbuzo Nkosi, 45, in January 2023. Mokoka worked as a deputy director at the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs when she participated in a fraud and money-laundering scheme in 2011.
In addition to the sentences, the government had the fraudsters' possessions forfeited to the state. During the conviction of the suspects, the court granted preservation orders of a double storey house at Kamagugu, seven vehicles and the pension funds of the convicts. Mokoka's previous conviction and current arrest highlight the continued efforts of South African authorities to combat corruption and fraud in the government.
Key points
- Former South African official Grace Mokoka, previously sentenced to 10 years in prison for R3m fraud, has been arrested for alleged R1.35m fraud.
- Mokoka was arrested by the Hawks in Mpumalanga on allegations of fraud involving funds intended to support a community land restitution project.
- The investigation stems from a land restitution project involving the Ingogo Communal Property Association (CPA), which successfully lodged a land claim in 2018.
