Suspect in R635m Tembisa Hospital probe arrested at OR Tambo, to appear in Palm Ridge court

A 37-year-old man linked to alleged irregularities worth R635 million at Tembisa Hospital was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport and is expected to appear in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court at the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court.

Arrest on return from overseas

The Hawks arrested the 37-year-old suspect on Friday when he returned to South Africa from abroad. He is accused of being part of a wider investigation into multimillion-rand tender fraud in the procurement process at Tembisa Hospital.

Allegations and charges

Hawks national spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the allegations in the Tembisa hospital cases include fraud, corruption, forgery and/or uttering, contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and money laundering.

The suspect is due to appear in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court, where he faces charges related to fraud, corruption and money laundering.

How procurement was allegedly manipulated

Mogale said certain hospital officials allegedly colluded with service providers to exploit the Request for Quotations (RFQs) system for procurement transactions below the R500,000 threshold. “This approach was intentionally employed to circumvent the formal tender process,” she said.

Whistleblower case and wider investigation

The procurement irregularities were flagged by whistleblower Babita Deokaran, a senior Gauteng health official who was gunned down outside her home in August 2021 after raising concerns about irregular tenders at Tembisa Hospital.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) later found that more than R2.04 billion had allegedly been siphoned from the Gauteng Department of Health through 207 front companies and nine syndicates.

Related developments

Six men convicted of Deokaran’s murder are serving sentences that range from six to 22 years.

What officials say

“The allegations in these Tembisa hospital cases relate to fraud, corruption, forgery and/or uttering, contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and money laundering,” Hawks national spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said.

Further court proceedings are expected to follow when the suspect appears before the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court at Palm Ridge.