Crackdown on Ramaphosa nephew's R326 million hospital syndicate - Lamborghinis, Bentley and boat seized

Authorities have swooped Hangwani Maumela, the man at the centre of a syndicate accused of defrauding the state of more than R326 million.

Maumela, a businessman linked to President Cyril Ramaphosa through a previous marriage, is the key target in a major investigation into corruption at Tembisa Hospital.

Ramaphosa has denied knowing Maumela.

The National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) has secured two preservation orders to freeze assets allegedly purchased with stolen public funds.

The crackdown follows a forensic trail sparked by the work of the late Babita Deokaran, a senior official in the Gauteng Department of Health, who flagged suspicious procurement deals at the hospital.

Deokaran was assassinated in August 2021 shortly after submitting a report detailing systemic abuse of the hospital’s supply chain processes.

Her findings prompted a deeper audit by the National Treasury’s Specialised Audit Services unit.

On 14 August 2025, the AFU obtained a court order to seize assets linked to the Maumela syndicate, valued at roughly R326 million.

NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the assets include upmarket properties, four Lamborghinis, a Bentley and a boat.

“The applications by the AFU are premised on forensic investigations by firms appointed to assist in the investigation concerning allegations of procurement fraud and corruption that took place at the Tembisa Hospital during the period from January 2019 to August 2022,” she said.

She added that the funds gained through the scheme were used for personal enrichment, bribes and luxury living, not for delivering goods or services to the hospital.

A second preservation order, granted on 27 August 2025, froze assets worth at least R47 million linked to the Mazibuko syndicate. This includes high-end homes and luxury vehicles worth more than R10 million.

Advocate Ouma Rabaji-Rasethaba, Deputy National Director of the NPA and head of the AFU, said the impact of corruption is felt by every citizen.

“When there is no water, when there is no electricity, no textbooks, no medication, no hospitals, we are all suffering,” she said.

She added that denying South Africans health care, including medicine in hospitals, is a travesty of justice.

IOL News