Gardener mauled to death by former Lottery boss’s guard dog

The home of former National Lotteries Commission chief operating officer, Philemon Letwaba, who resigned under a cloud, in Marapyane, Mpumalanga. It is the most luxurious home in the village and a kilometre away from an old age home that sits unfinished despite almost R24-million in Lottery funding being allocated for the project since 2017. Photo: Raymond Joseph

• Stevens Mabuse, a gardener employed by Phillemon Letwaba, the former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) chief operating officer, was killed by a pit bull.
• He was mauled to death coming home in the early hours of 18 October by the dog, released at night to protect Letwaba’s property.
• Letwaba resigned from the NLC in August 2022, just as he was due to appear before a disciplinary hearing to answer corruption charges.

A gardener employed by Phillemon Letwaba, the former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) chief operating officer, was savaged to death by a pit bull that police say was released at night to protect the property.

A security guard discovered the body of Stevens Mabuse while patrolling the property in the early hours of Saturday 19 October.

Letwaba was one of the key people implicated in the looting of the Lottery until 2022.

Although a statement by police did not identify Letwaba as the owner of the house, SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Tlaki Matemane from Mmametlhake police station confirmed that the incident happened at Letwaba’s home in the village of Marapyane in Mpumalanga. Letwaba was asleep inside his house at the time of the attack.

Letwaba identified Mabuse to police as one of his employees.

Letwaba did not respond to an email with questions about the incident.

An inquest docket into Mabuse’s death has been opened and the circumstances of his death would be investigated, Matemane stated.

She said that Mabuse had spent the night drinking at a local tavern and was attacked when he returned home in the early hours of the morning.

It is not clear why the dog attacked Mabuse as he was responsible for feeding and caring for it and other dogs on the property.

“It was alleged that he [Mabuse] arrived and entered inside [the property] but did not reach the entrance door to his bedroom,” Matemane said.

“The visible footprints of the victim were seen and it was noticed that he tried to rescue himself from the pit bull but was overpowered as it was suspected that he had few drinks of alcohol,” she said.

The dog was removed by the SPCA and subsequently euthanised at Letwaba’s request.

A Marapyane resident, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions, claimed that Letwaba had bought the pit bull after a break-in at the house. He claimed that an undisclosed amount of money had been stolen in a break-in, but GroundUp was unable to independently verify this.

Letwaba’s home and Lottery money

Letwaba resigned from the NLC with immediate effect in August 2022, just weeks before he was due to appear before a disciplinary hearing to answer charges of abusing his position to enrich himself and his family.

He lives in a gated, upmarket estate in Pretoria, about 135 kilometres from Marapyane, his home village. He uses the house in Marapyane for weekend breaks and holidays.

There are three buildings on the sprawling property: a main house and two large cottages used to accommodate guests, all surrounded by a high wall.

Google satellite photos show extensive, well-kept gardens and a swimming pool and tennis court at the rear of the property.

The property – the biggest and most luxurious in Marapyane village – is just over a kilometre from an old age home that remains unfinished despite almost R24-million in Lottery funding being allocated for the project since 2017.

Lottery grants were paid to Matieni Community Centre, a non-profit organisation based in a remote village in Limpopo that had lay dormant for 15 years before it was hijacked and used to apply to the NLC for funding.

A GroundUp investigation revealed that Upbrand Properties, a company linked to Letwaba and members of his family, was directly involved in the Marapyane old age project and the other multimillion-rand Lottery-funded old age homes scattered around the country, none of which have ever been completed.

Upbrand paid towards the construction of Letwaba’s Marapyane house. These payments included a R100,000 payment for a roof slab for the house, R90,493 for decor, R126,560 for trees and R33,200 to a company called Mystique Mirrors.

Other payments marked on the bank statements as “Marapyane house”, totalled over R231,000. There were also numerous payments for “material”, artisans who worked on the house, palisade fencing, paving, “water solution” and waterproofing. Also over R61,000 was paid for an item identified as “CCTV Nkandla”. Letwaba refers to his house in Marapyane as “Nkandla”, the same name used for former President Jacob Zuma’s homestead.

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