The Hawks have arrested former government finance official Grace Mokoka in Mpumalanga over an alleged R1.35 million fraud. The 50-year-old was out on parole from an earlier fraud sentence at the time.
The Hawks said the money was meant to support a community land restitution project. Mokoka was arrested on a warrant in a case registered in Nelspruit in 2018.
“Mokoka, who was employed as Deputy Director of Finance at the time, allegedly irregularly approved a payment of R1,358,440 to the company without services being rendered and without following the required procurement processes,” Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi said.
Mokoka faces charges of fraud, theft, corruption and money laundering. The corruption charge falls under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. The money laundering charge falls under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
She appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 29 September 2026. The court granted her bail of R1,000.
The Hawks spokesperson said the case stems from a land restitution project involving the Ingogo Communal Property Association. The association successfully lodged a land claim in 2018.
“Following the restoration of the land to the community, the CPA sought assistance from the Department to acquire farming and firefighting equipment,” he said.
The Hawks allege that a company called MPG Mash Trading submitted an invoice for services that were never delivered. Mokoka worked at the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform at the time.
Investigators allege that the company’s director, Mduduzi Mashwama, submitted the invoice. They say he did so after project manager Sikhumbuzo Nkosi approached him. Godfrey Mchunu, a departmental project officer, had appointed Sikhumbuzo Nkosi as project manager.
Mchunu and Sikhumbuzo Nkosi were arrested in connection with the matter in 2025. Mashwama has been charged in his personal capacity and as a representative of the company. The co-accused were each released on R1,000 bail.
Mokoka and Sikhumbuzo Nkosi were both on parole when they were arrested in this case. The Hawks said the two had each been sentenced to 10 years in prison in separate but similar matters.
In 2018, Magistrate Sheila Msibi found Mokoka, Zenzele Mncwango, Sikhumbuzo Nkosi and Thandi Mndawe guilty of fraud and money laundering. That case dated back to 2011, when Mokoka was a deputy director in a Mpumalanga provincial department.
Hawks national spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase previously said Mokoka issued an appointment letter to Mndawe’s company, Sadia Trading. He said Mndawe had not submitted tender documents.
“The company received an undue payment of R2 950 000 for services that were never rendered,” Nkwalase said.
Mndawe entered into a plea agreement with the state and her sentence was suspended. The Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court sentenced Mokoka, Mncwango and Sikhumbuzo Nkosi in January 2023. Nkwalase said each would serve an effective 10 years in prison.
Nkwalase said the court also granted preservation orders over a double storey house at Kamagugu, seven vehicles and the pension funds of those convicted.
The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit is handling the new case. The matter was postponed to 26 October, when Mokoka will appear with her co-accused.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL. Image: IOL. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.