Alfred Nevhutanda used Lottery money to build a holiday mansion

The holiday mansion in Limpopo originally built by former chair of the National Lotteries Commission Alfred Nevhutanda using lottery funds. Photo: Elmon Tshikhudo

Alfred Nevhutanda, the former chair of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), used Lottery money to build a luxury holiday house in Limpopo, an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) found.

But a decision was taken not to pursue the matter and seek a preservation order to freeze and dispose of it, as it was sold in 2021 to an “innocent party”.

This was confirmed by a source with direct knowledge of the investigation, who told GroundUp: “Lottery funds were used. The house was sold back in 2021 to an innocent party, to someone called T. Muavha.”

Although the area at Nandoni Dam, near Thohoyandou in the Vhembe district, is largely undeveloped, there are several large, luxury holiday homes belonging to wealthy Limpopo businesspeople.

Nevhutanda sold the house when an SIU investigation into lottery corruption was already underway. His scandal-ridden tenure as NLC chair ended in 2021, the same year that he sold the house.

The SIU decided not to pursue a preservation order, as the house no longer belonged to Nevhutanda, and the SIU was uncertain whether they would succeed in an application for a preservation order, GroundUp was told.

Nevhutanda did not respond to our questions.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom and millions more

This is not the first time that the SIU declined to seek a preservation order over an asset that Nevhutanda bought using lottery funds. GroundUp previously revealed how he used millions in siphoned lottery funds to purchase a R6.3-million Rolls-Royce Phantom, which he sold just three months later.

The Pretoria High Court issued a preservation order over the vehicle in 2023 after the Asset Forfeiture Unit revealed how almost R4.6-million of the car’s purchase price was siphoned from dodgy Lottery grants.

But the preservation order was lifted a few months later. This was because the NPA did not believe it would succeed if it pursued the forfeiture of the vehicle, which, like the Limpopo mansion, had been bought by an “innocent” third party.

Nevhutanda also used Lottery funds to purchase his lavish R27-million mansion in Pretoria and a R1-million unit inside an office park in Polokwane.

A property ostensibly bought for his church, the Higher Grace Christ Redeemer, was also funded with R2.2-million from Lottery money. The offer to purchase was signed in Nevhutanda’s name and not his church, the SIU told Parliament.

Support independent journalism
Donate using Payfast