Former UJ senior director ordered to repay R18.18m after court finds he helped fraudulent student housing scheme

The Labour Court has ordered the University of Johannesburg’s former Senior Director of Student Affairs, Andries Helani, to repay over R18.18 million after finding he breached his employment contract by helping non-compliant private student accommodation providers obtain accreditation.

Judge finds bribery and fraudulent misrepresentations

Labour Court Judge Reynaud Neil Daniels concluded that Helani accepted bribes and made fraudulent misrepresentations to assist Mahlatse Investments in securing accreditation for two properties in Braamfontein. The court found Helani’s conduct directly linked to the university’s loss and ordered him to pay the full amount sought by the university, together with the university’s legal costs and the costs of his unsuccessful applications to amend his pleadings and postpone the trial.

Accredited capacity far higher than actual beds

The court heard that Mahlatse Investments applied for accreditation for two Braamfontein properties one in Jorissen Street and another in Bertha Street which were approved for a combined 1,441 beds (Jorissen Street for 748 beds and Bertha Street for 693 beds). A subsequent investigation found the Jorissen Street property had only 125 beds and the Bertha Street property had only 174 beds, a combined capacity of 299 beds. The investigation also identified incomplete applications, missing compulsory documents and other compliance failures.

University payments and the R18.18 million figure

The court record shows that Fundi, which facilitated payments from the university to accredited accommodation providers, paid Mahlatsi Properties and/or Mahlatse Investments R17.09 million between March and October 2022. That amount excluded Fundi’s six percent fee of R1.09 million, bringing the total amount paid by the university in relation to the two properties to R18.18 million. The university argued it received no value for the money because the properties were not compliant; Judge Daniels agreed and awarded the full amount as damages.

Payments to Helani and rejected explanations

The judgment records that Helani received 366 payments amounting to over R3 million between March 2021 and March 2024. Specific entries noted in the judgment include a R30,000 deposit into his account with the reference “Siphiwe K”, a R29,000 payment by Mahlatsi Properties towards his son’s school fees and a further R9,000 payment. A forensic accountant found Helani personally received R457,000 from Siphiwe Khoza and Mahlatse-related entities between March and November 2022. The court found a significant correlation between payments made by Fundi to the accommodation providers and payments received by Helani; several payments to Helani occurred within days of Fundi paying the providers.

Helani sought to explain some payments by saying he had been involved in a property transaction with Khoza and had borrowed money from him because of financial difficulties. The court found these explanations inadequate: Helani could not produce a deed of sale or proof of transfer for the alleged property transaction, nor proof that an alleged loan had been repaid. The court also found he failed to disclose his relationships with Khoza, Nkele and related entities, and failed to disclose the payments he received from accommodation providers.

Role in the accreditation process and coordinated scheme finding

Judge Daniels rejected Helani’s defence that he played only an administrative role. The court found he was a senior manager, a member of the Bid Evaluation Committee and the project leader responsible for the accreditation process. Helani prepared the report submitted to the Tender Committee recommending accreditation of the two properties, and the Tender Committee relied on his report when approving them. The judge found Helani represented to the Tender Committee that the applications had been properly evaluated, inspections had taken place and the properties complied with requirements; the court concluded those representations were false and that Helani knew, or must have known, they were false.

Compromised inspection process

The court heard evidence that the inspection process had been compromised. UJ security officer Mthetheleli Jafta testified that he had not inspected the two properties despite his name appearing on inspection documentation; he said colleagues had asked him to write his name on security checklists and that his signature on the documents had been forged. A forensic investigation found no students at Jorissen Street and only one UJ student at Bertha Street during a later inspection.

Taken together Helani’s position in the process, his failure to disclose financial dealings, receipt of substantial payments and the involvement of other employees and students led the judge to conclude the conduct amounted to a coordinated scheme to defraud the university. Judge Daniels described Helani as a

“willing and active participant”

in the scheme.

Employment timeline and final order

Helani served as UJ’s Senior Director for Student Affairs from January 2017 until his dismissal in March 2024. The final order directed him to pay the university over R18.18 million for damages caused by his breach of contract and to pay the university’s trial costs as well as costs linked to his unsuccessful procedural applications.

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