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JUST IN | Former KZN police chief granted R20 000 bail in World Cup 2010 tender scandal case

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Former KZN Provincial Commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni appears in Durban Magistrate's Court for the first time.
Former KZN Provincial Commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni appears in Durban Magistrate's Court for the first time.
Kaveel Singh
  • Former KZN provincial commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni and police officer Ashwin Narainpershad have been granted bail.
  • They are accused of participating in a 2010 FIFA World Cup police accommodation tender scandal involving R47 million.
  • Last week Ngobeni could not be located and the NPA said she was at large.


In a matter that's nearly 10 years in the making, corruption-accused former KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni has appeared in the Durban Magistrate's Court in connection with allegations involving R47 million FIFA World Cup police accommodation tender fraud.

Ngobeni together and a police officer, Ashwin Narainpershad, were on the other side of the law on Monday when they appeared before Magistrate Vanitha Armu.

Ngobeni was granted R20 000 bail and Narainpershad was granted R10 000 bail.

Their bail conditions prohibit them from leaving the province or country without informing the investigating officer and contacting witnesses directly or indirectly, and they have been ordered to hand over their passports to the investigating officer.

The two are among four accused in the multimillion rand tender fraud case - the others are former Pietermaritzburg insurance-broker and millionaire businessman Thoshan Panday and Colonel Navin Madhoe.

How did they allegedly con the taxpayer?

In 2010, as excitement built up around the Soccer World Cup, there was a need for accommodation for 530 police officers who were tasked with ensuring that the events were secure.

By then, Panday had registered several businesses in his name and the names of close relatives.

His company, Gold Coast Trading, would become the main entity to win tenders worth millions from the KZN police department.

Madhoe, and Narainpershad, allegedly defied normal procurement processes, allowing Panday's company to act as an agent to book the police accommodation at inflated prices and receive other tenders.

Tenders that amounted to millions of rand were allegedly approved by Madhoe, with the assistance of Narainpershad, who are both accused of receiving bribes from Panday.

The alleged activity caught the attention of then KZN Hawks Head General Johan Booysen.

Ngobeni is alleged to have instructed Booysen to cease investigations into the matter. Booysen detailed these events at the Zondo commission into allegations of state capture in April last year.

Ngobeni is alleged to have received bribes from Panday, including a birthday bash for her husband.

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