Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has suspended three senior officials arrested for alleged fraud and theft involving more than R1-million. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sharon Seretlo) Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has announced the precautionary suspension of three top health department officials who were arrested just over a week ago, on 2 March 2026, on charges of fraud and theft involving more than R1-million.
National Department of Health Director-General Sandile Buthelezi, Chief Financial Officer Phineas Phaswa Mamogale and acting Deputy Director-General Malixole Percy Mahlathi will remain on suspension until their cases are finalised or their contracts come to an end, depending on which comes first, according to a statement by the department on Wednesday, 11 March.
In the interim, Motsoaledi has appointed Professor Nicholas Crisp, deputy director-general for National Health Insurance, as acting director general for a period of three months.
Buthelezi, Mamogale and Mahlathi appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court last week and were released on bail of R10,000 each.
They are all facing two counts of fraud and theft, while Buthelezi faces an additional charge of contravening the Public Finance Management Act.
/file/attachments/orphans/IMG-20260302-WA0013_917874.jpg "Three seniors officials at the national Department of Health, from left to right Dr Malixole Mahlathi (67), Acting Deputy Director, Phineas Mamogale (45), Chief Financial Officer, and Dr Sandile Buthelezi (55), Director-General, appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Monday, 2 March 2026. They were released on R10,000 bail. (Photo: Supplied / Hawks)")
The national Department of Health noted that Motsoaledi “would like to allow the law to take its course”.
Department spokesperson Foster Mohale confirmed to Daily Maverick that the three officials would continue to receive their full salaries while under precautionary suspension.
“Minister Motsoaledi would like to assure the stakeholders and public that the department will continue to function optimally according to its mandate,” he said.
On Wednesday, 4 March 2026, when Motsoaledi appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Health to provide a briefing on the case implicating the three officials, he noted that “we also saw on Monday [2 March] for the first time that there are officials in my department who were arrested”.
According to Motsoaledi, the court had informed his legal adviser that the three officials could communicate with the minister, but would have to apply to the court for permission to perform any duties related to health.
“Imagine having to apply to court every time you want to do something in health,” Motsoaledi said to the committee. He added that he was consulting with President Cyril Ramaphosa on the matter, as “the appointments and suspensions of directors-general are handled by the Presidency, not by ministers”.
R1-million scandal
The case against Buthelezi, Mamogale and Mahlathi is linked to their alleged involvement in the irregular appointment of two service providers, Ithani Amen (PTY) Ltd and N Mbileni J Tohlang-Nkopane Inc, in a labour-related matter between 30 August 2023 and 28 September 2023.
“Ithani Amen was appointed as an independent investigator and N Mbileni J Tohlang-Nkopane as chairperson for a disciplinary hearing held against suspended Chief Director of Labour Relations at the national Department of Health. Both service providers were paid via the Global Fund, and aimed to assist the department in training and relief in outbreaks,” said the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
One of the service providers, Nokuzola Mavis Mafunda, representing the company Ithani Amen, appeared before the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on 5 March 2026.
According to the NPA, she is facing a charge of fraud of more than R940,000.
“It is alleged that on 22 August 2023 the company was registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission. Nine days after the registration, on 31 August 2023, the company was allegedly appointed by the NDoH [National Department of Health] to provide services of investigations in an internal disciplinary hearing,” said the NPA.
“Two months after the appointment on 2 November 2023, the accused submitted an invoice of more than R530,000 to the national Department of Health with her personal name and banking details. The invoice was not paid because the company was not registered in the Central Supplier Database (CSD) as per the National Treasury instructions, and the supply chain management does not pay individuals.”
On 29 January 2024, three months after the appointment of Ithani Amen by the national Department of Health, Mafunda allegedly registered the company on the Central Supplier Database, after which payments totalling more than R940,000 were paid to the company between 12 February 2024 and 14 January 2025, said the NPA.
The situation came under scrutiny when Mafunda, along with Buthelezi, Mamogale and Mahlathi, was reported to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) by the forensic investigator.
Mafunda was granted R10,000 bail on the understanding that she could not enter the premises of the national Department of Health, interfere with State witnesses or discuss the matter with her cousin, who was also a State witness in the case.
The case has been postponed to 3 June 2026 for further investigations and the appearance of all four accused in the matter.
Previous scandals
Daily Maverick reported last week that this was not the first time Buthelezi had been caught up in allegations of corruption or mismanagement. In 2021, he was officially suspended pending a disciplinary inquiry into his role in an irregular payment of R150-million to Digital Vibes.
At that time, Crisp was also appointed acting director-general for the period in which Buthelezi was under investigation. Buthelezi was cleared of wrongdoing in November 2021 and his suspension was lifted, but the procurement scandal cast a long shadow over senior leadership within the department.
In 2025, the national Department of Health launched a sweeping “due diligence investigation” into a series of hospital refurbishment projects that had already consumed millions of rand, according to an amaBhungane report. The programme, managed by the Independent Development Trust, was meant to deliver long-overdue upgrades to key hospitals, but instead became mired in allegations of fraud, mismanagement and irregularities.
Buthelezi was reportedly spearheading the programme, and was the one who informed the trust that its memorandum of understanding with the Department of Health had been terminated. DM