Finding R532m: SIU’s quest to take down Thapelo Buthelezi’s ambulance empire

A property in a luxury estate in Meyersdal, Gauteng, and a farm in Parys have been frozen as the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) began to claw back R532-million from controversial businessman Thapelo Buthelezi’s companies for ambulance services provided in the Free State under unlawful contracts.

Last year, the Special Tribunal ruled against Buthelezi EMS and its affiliated companies, declaring the Free State Department of Health’s award of multimillion-rand contracts for inter-facility emergency medical services unlawful, unprocedural and unconstitutional.

All these companies are linked to Buthelezi, who seems to have disappeared and missed his last two appearances before the court and the Special Tribunal.

The specialist publication Spotlight, with the support of Daily Maverick, played a crucial role in exposing the rot in the Free State Department of Health regarding Buthelezi EMS and his other companies.

Buthelezi EMS and companies

Spotlight: Medical staff accuse Buthelezi EMS of running a taxi service, not an ambulance service

Spotlight: Controversial ambulance company in line for new Free State tender

Spotlight: SIU to investigate contracts with Buthelezi EMS

Spotlight open letter: Free State and North West: Join the healthcare dots, Mr President

Aeromedical contract

Buthelezi EMS landed these contracts shortly after a multimillion-rand aeromedical service contract in the Free State came to an end.

This contract has also been set aside by the Special Tribunal in a separate case with an order allowing the SIU to recover funds. In that case, the amounts are equally big. Another Buthelezi company, Buthelezi HEMS, was part of a joint venture in the case. In the end, the bill racked up by the Joint Venture was R212-million for a three-year contract running between 2015 and 2018.

These included operating fees for the first service operating from Bloemfontein: R55,568,677.39; Aero-Medical Services operating from Bethlehem R35,495,360.10; Operating fees for two helicopters came to R91,154,037.49; Fee increases came to R671,359.74; payment for excess hours flown was R4,782,015.00; extended contract fees were R10,683,401.22; renovation of the various helipads and construction of a hangar (construction-related work) cost R7,950,000.00 and further construction costs paid to sub-contractors were R6,041,479.31.

This judgment further detailed how missing paperwork hampered the SIU’s investigation. In the case, Judge David Mashile also remarked that as a seasoned bidder of public contracts, the representatives of the joint venture, which included Buthelezi, were aware that serious irregularities had taken place, “but chose to look the other way to ensure that the outcome was achieved”.

A new ambulance contract

Shortly after this contract came to an end in 2018, Buthelezi EMS landed lucrative state tenders worth hundreds of millions of rands to run hospital and clinic transfer services in the Free State and North West.

In 2025, the SIU concluded civil proceedings to review and set aside these irregular tenders awarded to Buthelezi EMS for the transport of patients between hospitals and clinics, as well as the subsequent contract. Under this contract, the Free State Health Department paid a staggering R532,789,770.12 to four companies linked to Buthelezi, despite having no valid contracts in place.

The payments: Buthelezi One Stop Emergency Med received R40,619,506.40, Buthelezi One Stop EMS R4,739,819.04, Buthelezi EMS R305,196,897.00 and B EMS R182,233,548.12.

In May last year, Buthelezi EMS and its associated companies were ordered to submit audited statements for expenses incurred, income received and profit made under the unlawful contracts.

But Buthelezi never did.

SIU spokesperson Selby Makgotho said that on 6 May 2025, the Special Tribunal’s registrar served an order on Buthelezi via email.

“He acknowledged receipt on 15 May, but disputed some time frames. However, he did not comply with the order to submit audited financial statements. This led to a virtual judicial case management meeting on 12 September 2025, requested by the SIU, during which contempt proceedings were initiated against him. In his affidavit, Buthelezi acknowledged the order, but cited financial constraints and lack of legal representation as reasons for his non-compliance,” Makgotho said.

Not at court

Makgotho said that at the next hearing, on 23 January 2026, Buthelezi failed to appear. The Tribunal issued an interdict in favour of the SIU, freezing one of Buthelezi’s assets, a farm near Parys in the Free State that is registered under the name of Buthelezi EMS.

On 24 March 2026, the matter regarding the Meyersdal property was heard, and again, Buthelezi failed to appear or bring his legal representatives. The Tribunal granted an order interdicting Buthelezi from deposing or selling the property, situated in a luxury estate in Meyersdal, where property prices start at R6-million.

On 4 May, the president of the Special Tribunal, Judge Bernard Ngoepe, ordered that a 2,106 square metre property in the Meyersdal Nature Estate be frozen pending the finalisation of an order against the company.

Makgotho said that the further conduct of the matter was at a sensitive phase, and as a result, the court papers could not be made available. DM