SIU accuses SANEF of misrepresenting investigation findings on Makhudu Sefara
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has accused the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) of misrepresenting the contents of a letter sent to former SANEF chairperson Makhudu Sefara’s legal representatives regarding funds linked to a National Lotteries Commission (NLC) grant.
According to the SIU, SANEF’s statement created the impression that Sefara had been cleared as a beneficiary of the funds. The SIU said this was not reflected in its correspondence with his lawyers.
The SIU said its investigation found that Todi Media director Daniel Makwela failed to provide evidence showing how a R1.5 million NLC grant had been spent. Makwela initially offered to repay R1.1 million, but the SIU rejected the proposal and requested a sworn affidavit and supporting documents detailing the expenditure.
When Todi Media was unable to account for the funds, it offered to repay the full R1.5 million in a final settlement, which the SIU accepted.
The investigation traced payments of R900,000 to Black Dungaree and R550,000 to Unscripted Communications, Sefara’s company. The SIU said Unscripted Communications was not itself the subject of the investigation and that there were no findings against either the company or Sefara.
However, the SIU said it traced NLC funds to Unscripted Communications and Sefara’s personal bank accounts as part of its investigation. It also said Todi Media could not produce any agreement to justify the payment made to Unscripted Communications one day after receiving the NLC funds.
The SIU maintained that its claim was against Todi Media alone, which ultimately repaid the full grant. It said this did not amount to a finding that Sefara had not benefited from the funds, as Todi Media failed to provide evidence showing how the money had been used in line with the grant application.
The unit also denied publishing any defamatory statements about Sefara or his company, saying its public communications were limited to Todi Media’s misuse of NLC funds and the company’s repayment of the grant.
The SIU said these facts had also been explained to Sefara during a meeting with the unit.
It said SANEF’s statement ignored these distinctions, misled the public about the SIU’s position and undermined the integrity of its investigation.
The SIU reiterated its commitment to recovering misused state funds and protecting the public interest.
IOL has reached out to SANEF for comment.
IOL
