‘Dior bag bribe’ scandal: Police probe into ex-IDT boss Malaka nears completion

A police investigation into an alleged bribe attempt, which Daily Maverick captured on video and that focuses on former Independent Development Trust (IDT) head Tebogo Malaka and its spokesperson Phasha Makgolane, is in the process of being finalised.

This is according to Western Cape police and the provincial National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

In August last year, Daily Maverick released video footage of Malaka and Makgolane allegedly offering a R60,000 cash bribe to its investigative journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh.

He did not accept the money.

Malaka subsequently denied knowledge of a bribe, but the video footage and audio suggest otherwise.

Video exposé and resignations

Of this scandal, Myburgh previously wrote: “The story that Malaka wanted to bury delves into a botched IDT EPWP scheme and prominent businessman Collen Mashawana’s involvement in a property currently being built for Malaka inside Gauteng’s Waterfall Country Estate.

“Mashawana funnelled at least R200,000 into House Malaka. This while his eponymous charitable foundation secured a R60-million contract from Malaka’s IDT to run employment schemes for nearly 2,000 people across five provinces.

“Scores of the EPWP workers were ripped off by the Collen Mashawana Foundation, with some of them receiving only fractions of the salaries that were due to them.”

(Mashawana, in an affidavit relating to legal action he launched last year in an attempt to prevent Daily Maverick and Myburgh reporting further on these issues, denied making any payments towards Malaka’s property. His court bid was struck off the roll.)

Last Wednesday, it emerged that Malaka had resigned as the IDT’s chief executive officer (this comes into effect on 31 January 2026), before a disciplinary hearing against her that stemmed from Daily Maverick’s video exposé.

Makgolane also resigned.

While this means disciplinary hearings against them will not proceed, they still face the possibility of police action – potential criminal charges.

This is because days after publishing the alleged attempted bribery video in August last year, Daily Maverick lodged a criminal complaint with the police in Stellenbosch over the incident.

Roughly five months have since passed.

‘Cops finalising criminal investigation’

Daily Maverick tried to find out how the police investigation had progressed in that time.

It is understood that after the criminal complaint had been lodged with the officers in Stellenbosch, the case was referred to the police’s commercial crimes unit.

Western Cape police spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk, responding to a query on the criminal complaint, last week told Daily Maverick: “This office can confirm that the mentioned case is being investigated by the Commercial Crime Investigations [Unit].”

He said the case was still under investigation and its finalisation was pending, based on queries from the Director of Public Prosecutions.

This week, the NPA’s Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila confirmed that police referred the case to the prosecuting authority’s Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit (SCCU) on 10 October last year.

Read more: What will it take? Three months of silence since Dior bag journalist bribe

“The SCCU screened the docket and noted that there were several important aspects of the investigation the police needed to attend to,” he said.

“The docket was referred to the investigating officer for that investigation to be conducted.”

Ntabazalila said the SCCU’s regional head, along with its provincial commercial crimes unit counterpart, was closely monitoring the finalisation of the case.

“An update on the outstanding investigation was provided on 12 January 2026, and a further follow-up with the police will be on 15 February 2026,” he said.

‘No immunity from police probe’

Meanwhile, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson also lodged criminal complaints with police in Cape Town in August last year, after Daily Maverick’s video exposé.

Last week, reacting to news of Malaka’s resignation, Macpherson said: “While Ms Malaka resigned before the disciplinary process could be concluded, I welcome the fact that her resignation comes without a golden handshake.

“Importantly, her resignation does not immunise her from criminal investigations or any civil proceedings that may arise…

“We therefore urge law-enforcement agencies to conclude the criminal investigations without delay, and to act decisively should the evidence warrant prosecution.”

Read more: ‘Ghost company’ bags R428m oxygen plants tender for state hospitals

The overall saga extends back further.

Oxygen plants scandal

In October 2024, Myburgh wrote about an R836-million project that the IDT was managing, to install oxygen plants at fifty-five government hospitals. Myburgh reported that the project raised red flags.

A few months later, in January last year, the Public Works and Infrastructure Department appointed an independent advisory firm to conduct a forensic investigation into the project.

Fast-forward seven months to July last year. Macpherson said a forensic report on that investigation found that Malaka “failed to exercise oversight”.

“The report confirms that she relied entirely on internal [supply chain management] staff to assure her that the process had followed proper procurement protocol.”

Findings were also made against others.

Macpherson also alleged that in cracking down on the IDT, he became “the target of coordinated disinformation attacks” that involved voice notes generated via artificial intelligence and “fabricated call logs”.

“The investigators conducted over 40 interviews with departmental officials, IDT executives, contractors and oversight stakeholders.

“They reviewed more than 90 procurement documents, analysed financial records, and conducted… verifications,” he said.

“But even as the investigation got under way, a disturbing counter-campaign was launched.”

These are among the issues that led to Malaka’s suspension in August last year over the oxygen plants project matter.

Her subsequent resignation, announced last week, now appears to have coincided with police tightening their investigation into the Daily Maverick video footage aspect of this overall scandal. DM