Non-profit organisations that received Lottery grants contributed millions of rands, directly and indirectly, to help pay for a lavish R27-million mansion for former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda. The mansion, on a private suburban estate in Annlin, Pretoria North, is owned by a company of which Nevhutanda is the sole director.

The home is situated on a lavish, sprawling two-hectare — 20,000m² — estate that was marketed for sale by a London estate agent for £2.42-million at the time Nevhutanda bought it in 2018. Nevhutanda is a director of at least 40 companies, including some involved in mining, investment and communications. He is also the senior pastor at Higher Grace Church International. His wife, Tshilidzi, is also a pastor in the church. The church is a three-minute walk from their home.

One of his companies, Vhutanda Investments (Pty) Ltd, is the registered owner of the luxury estate. A months-long GroundUp investigation has uncovered evidence that R27-million was paid over a six-month period, between September 2017 and March 2018, directly to Couzyn Hertzog Horak Attorneys, a law firm acting for the seller of the property. This money was held in trust by the attorneys until the property was transferred to Vhutanda. The total cost of the house, including over R3-million in transfer duties, was more than R30.2 million. Yet it has a municipal valuation of only R5.3-million.

But, at a building cost of at least R15,000 per square metre for high-end homes, the house would have a replacement value of R48-million or more. The politically-connected Nevhutanda, who is a former provincial chairperson of the ANC in Limpopo, was the chair of the NLC board at the time of these payments and the purchase of the house and estate. He was one of the key fundraisers for the ANC’s 2009 election campaign in Limpopo. He appears not to have reported any potential conflicts of interest relating to the payments in the 2017-18 financial year when the payments for the house were made to the lawyers. The estate was purchased on 6 March 2018.

It was registered in the name of Vhutanda Investments on 23 May 2018. Nevhutanda uses the title of professor. This was awarded to him by Azerbaijan’s International Eco Energy Academy for a paper he delivered at an international energy conference. But in 2012, AmaBhungane reported that there were “strong indications of plagiarised material” in the paper he had delivered at the annual international energy congress in Baku, Azerbaijan, bringing into question his professorship. Nevhutanda did not respond to detailed questions sent to him by GroundUp via email and WhatsApp. NLC spokesperson Ndivhuho Mafela refused to answer our questions because of an ongoing investigation into Lottery grants by the Special Investigating Unit.

Nevhutanda’s house is like a private country estate in the middle of a residential area and dwarfs the surrounding, much smaller properties, as can be seen in this Google Earth satellite image. The estate was developed by a Pretoria multimillionaire entrepreneur and was listed as being for sale by London-based global estate agents Savills, as part of their “Pretoria Luxury Collection, the leading portfolio of luxury properties” Described in the for sale advert as “a hidden gem in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Northern Pretoria”, the original listing included photos of the lavish home and its private helipad.

“This spectacular property needs to be experienced first hand to truly appreciate its timeless charm and prestigious beauty,” Savills said in its advert. “Almost every room leads out to its own balcony enabling you to relax and enjoy the luscious gardens and serene environment with breathtaking views.” Situated on the two-hectare private estate is the three-storey, 3,200m² main house. It has six en-suite bedrooms with walk-in dressing rooms and private lounges, a double-storey pool house and a private helipad. There is also a five-bedroom “servant’s quarter”, according to the advert.

The third-floor master bedroom covers an area of 460m² and has a private lounge, a study and a dressing room. The average three-bedroom house in South Africa covers an area of between 110m² and 120m². The house also has an “executive lounge on the second level that is equipped with a sushi counter, bar and kitchenette and can accommodate up to 130 guests”. It also has “exceptionally high standards of workmanship” that are “evident in the superior re fixtures and fittings inclusive of marble flooring, solid cherry wood and underfloor heating.” Facilities on the estate include a tennis court, heated pool, sauna and steam and spa baths. There is also a guardhouse and the entire property is surrounded by a 3m high electrified perimeter wall.

The purchase of the property was mentioned by SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi in a presentation on his unit’s investigation into Lottery corruption to Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Competition Portfolio Committee earlier this month. He revealed a trail of fraud, money laundering and networks of corruption. Mothibi listed several of the house payments and explained to MPs how SIU forensic analysts had tracked the flow of money from non-profit organisations that had received grants from the NLC. He did not mention Nevhutanda by name. Instead, he referred to him as “board member number 2”. He explained how money from non-profit companies that had received lottery grants was paid to the attorneys handling the purchase of the property but did not identify the companies involved.

GroundUp has now identified millions in payments for the house from non-profit organisations that got Lottery grants, as well as several businesses, one of which is linked to Phillemon Letwaba, the NLC’s chief operating officer. Again not naming Nevhutanda, Mothibi told MPs that “board member number 2” had allegedly received R1-million from a company owned by the brother of a very senior NLC official for the deposit on a luxury vehicle. He was referring to Upbrand Properties and its one-time director Joe Letwaba, the older brother of Phillemon Letwaba. Mothibi told MPs: “It is clear that the company [Upbrand] belonging to the brother of one senior NLC official [Phillemon Letwaba] was used as a vehicle to launder money received by non-profit organisations from the NLC.”