SIU finds 208 Ekurhuleni stands worth R58m sold with no council resolution

Two hundred and eight municipal stands in Villa Liza, near Boksburg, were transferred into private hands between 2018 and 2022 with no council resolution and no lawful authority, in a scheme the Special Investigating Unit values at R58 million. The municipality has not received a cent from any of it.

The finding was made public by the head of the SIU, Leonard Lekgetho, at a press conference on the unit’s investigation into the affairs of Ekurhuleni Municipality. President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the probe in October 2024 under Proclamation No. 195 of 2024, which covered serious maladministration in the transfer of 221 vacant stands, conduct that violated applicable legislation, unlawful conduct by municipal employees or agents, and the losses suffered by the municipality or the state.

The SIU submitted its final report to the Presidency in July 2026. A redacted version is to be placed on the unit’s website.

How the scheme worked

The unit describes a deliberate scheme to defraud the municipality. An “agent” identified unallocated municipal land in Villa Liza, orchestrated a fraudulent sale and transfer of that land into private hands, and worked with a conveyancing firm to falsify the documents registered at the Deeds Office.

The agent, the SIU says, was a person who had already died. The unit confirmed through the Department of Home Affairs that the individual passed away on 10 January 2022.

The firm that lodged the documents, Moki Attorneys Incorporated, is owned by Kabelo Valentine Moki. It was not on the municipality’s panel of approved attorneys. The firm certified that all the documents necessary for the transfer were true and correct when it submitted them to the Deeds Office. Forged rates clearance certificates and fabricated powers of attorney were used to deceive the system.

The conveyancer and his spouse, Makhosazana Emelda Moki, personally benefited, acquiring 73 stands through Velamelda Trust and Mokolane Investments.

Each stand was sold for R18,000 according to the Deeds Office. Municipal valuations ranged from R80 000 to R3,7 million. The stands were later resold at an average of R250 000 each. Some have since been developed by the new owners, and the municipality derives no revenue from those properties.

Of the 221 properties named in the proclamation, 13 were not transferred by Moki Attorneys. Eight were transferred by the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements, two were privately owned, the municipality still owns two, and one is not listed in the municipal and deeds registry records.

Payments for the stands were made in cash, which the unit says complicated the tracing of the financial transactions. The SIU states that there is no evidence that Deeds Office officials participated in the scheme, and no evidence that municipal officials did.

What the unit has already done

In June 2026 the SIU obtained an interim interdict from the Special Tribunal preventing the occupants or registered owners of the 208 stands from selling, transferring, marketing, disposing of, leasing, donating, developing or otherwise dealing with the properties.

On Friday, 18 September, the unit will file an application in the Special Tribunal to review and set aside the unlawful transfers and to recover the losses incurred by the municipality.

The SIU has submitted 208 referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority for possible prosecution, and has referred the Moki Attorneys matter to the Legal Practice Council for professional consequences. Referrals have gone to the South African Revenue Service for investigation into undeclared income and tax irregularities, and 147 referrals have been submitted to the Financial Intelligence Centre over the conveyancer’s non-compliance with FICA legislation while effecting the transfers.

The fixes the unit wants in writing

On 16 March 2026 the SIU delivered a formal letter to the City Manager of Ekurhuleni recommending a set of controls. The municipality should verify properly before registering municipal services for new properties. It should maintain, update and verify its asset register, with effective controls over immovable property. It should inspect municipal-owned land regularly to prevent future theft and loss. It should conduct an annual audit of immovable municipal assets. And it should consider a memorandum of understanding with the Deeds Registration Office to place safeguards on any transfer of municipal land.

Lekgetho put the principle plainly. Public property, he said, is the collective asset of citizens, and schemes of this kind deprive communities of development opportunities and undermine the constitutional mandate of municipalities to serve their constituents.

The SIU says it remains committed to working with law enforcement and regulatory agencies to recover the losses and restore the properties to the people of Ekurhuleni.

The next dated step is the Special Tribunal application on Friday, 18 September. The criminal investigation follows the referrals to the NPA, and the unit’s recommendations now sit with the City Manager.

Source: South African Government (www.gov.za), Special Investigating Unit on transfer of municipal land in Ekurhuleni to private hands, https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/special-investigating-unit-transfer-municipal-land-ekurhuleni-private-hands