The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) welcomes today’s arrest of three National Department of Health officials in connection with alleged theft and fraud.
The arrests stem from a comprehensive police investigation that began in April 2024. It relates to allegations that more than R1 million was unlawfully awarded to service providers in 2023.
According to reports, the Hawks are investigating the matter and the three officials have already appeared in court. They were released on bail of R10 000 each. The case has been postponed to 3 June 2026.
The Freedom Front Plus was not surprised to learn that the Director-General, Dr Sandile Buthelezi, is reportedly one of the suspects. The Department’s Chief Financial Officer and the Deputy Director-General for Tertiary Health Services and Hospital Systems were also arrested.
The Department of Health continues to be plagued by numerous corruption scandals originating from within the Department, with the Digital Vibes tender scandal still fresh in the memory.
The Digital Vibes report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which was finally released by President Cyril Ramaphosa in September 2021 after considerable pressure from the Freedom Front Plus and others, had recommended immediate criminal investigations and the prosecution of all those implicated.
At the time, it was also recommended that disciplinary steps be instituted against Dr Sandile Buthelezi, who had been suspended as Director-General of the Department.
He should have faced charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering at that point. The Freedom Front Plus stated at the time that the implicated individuals, including Zweli Mkhize, should be imprisoned for their lawless actions; adding that the public was tired of corruption, fraud and the accompanying impunity.
The case against Mkhize is still before the Special Tribunal.
In June 2021, the Tribunal granted an order freezing assets worth R22 million pending the finalisation of a review application. The SIU sought an order setting aside contracts awarded to Digital Vibes. These contracts were valued at R266 million.
The Tembisa scandal, which the SIU exposed in September 2025, that saw approximately R2 billion looted from the hospital’s coffers and an official murdered also still hangs like a sword over the Department of Health.
The investigation is still ongoing.
The Freedom Front Plus and South African public are sick and tired of watching funds that should have been used to save lives disappear into the pockets of ANC cadres. This is exactly what brought the entire public healthcare system to its knees; but the ANC thinks it can merely wave the magic NHI wand and make all these problems disappear.
The Freedom Front Plus calls for justice to take its course and hopes that these corrupt officials will be duly punished by the criminal justice system.
FF+ Manifesto on Improved healthcare: Enhancing healthcare services for all citizens.
Cool Law Topping
Fun South African Fact: The Union Buildings in Pretoria house the President’s official offices. The site is worth a visit to marvel at a larger-than-life statue of Nelson Mandela as well as the immaculate gardens and grounds.
Roller Turtle
A British man on safari walks into a bar far out in the reaches of a game reserve in Southern Africa, he stays at the bar for a while shooting the shit with the bartender and drinking like a fish, he offer to buy the barkeep a round and since no one else is within 2km of their small oasis of liquor the barkeep obliges. The englishman goes off to the bathroom to have a good old go at the porcelain, he\’s back and ready for a few more whiskeys. He\’s just sat down when suddenly in the distance he hears a scream. He looks over his shoulder and dismisses it as nothing, he turns to the barkeep and orders a drink, takes a sip and hears the scream again. He looks at the barkeep who just shrugs it off. A minute or two later he and the barman hear it again and go outside to take a look. They see a lone figure running towards them screaming, he spots them and lets out a cry, RUN!!!!! HE\”S COMING!!!!!
The barkeep and the Englishman both look at the terrified bedraggled sight before them, and try to calm him down, but he\’s completely inconsolable. They give him water and finally manage to get a word out of him but he struggles free from their grasp and run away screaming.
A few minutes later the same thing happens with a whole group of men running in and screaming, he\’s coming, he\’s coming the barkeep grabs hold of one of the men as he tries to sprint past the bar and tries to get information out of him, again no response other than terrified gibberish.
The barkeep and his customer are starting to get worried, they start to pack up before another group of horrified natives run up to the bar most of them flee but one tries to hide behind the bar, the barkeep pulls out a shotgun and points it at the terrified man\’s face, finally managing to coax some words out of him. \”He\’s coming for us, Vernon Koekemoer is coming for us, we have to hide!!! We have to get out of here.\” He gets up and tries to run but the barkeep grabs him, feeling trapped in a panic he grabs the barkeeps shotgun and blows his own head off. The Englishman and the barkeep look at each other starting to really panic now.
They look out of the window and off in the distance they see a tornado coming towards the bar, at the bottom of the tornado they see the hugest beast of a man they have ever seen, as he gets closer they spot that he is riding a rhinocerous and using a crocodile as a riding whip, with each smack of the crocodile across the back of the rhino the louder is screams and the faster it runs, the tornado following it getting ever larger.
The 2 look at each other and start to fortify their position, they\’ve got a gun and they\’re waaay to drunk to run, so they start piling bar stool and tables and anything they can get their hands on to make sure they\’ll be safe when he arrives. They\’re not gonna make it, they can see the man slowing down his rhino, by now the crocodile is nothing but reptile paste on the bruised rump of the half dead rhino, the rhino drops down dead from exhaustion and crashes to the ground right outside the bar the tornado loses it\’s last breath in a cloud of dust as the huge man crashes his way through the make shift barricade and charges up towards the bar where the 2 men have taken shelter, he grabs a bottle of the hardest liquor on the shelf and down the entire litre in 1 gulp, he peers over the bar sobbing and sees the 2 defenders cowering down behind the crates of beer, they look up at the mans\’ face and he stares at them with a look of complete and utter hopelessness, he stares at them for a half second and half screams, half sobs, \”Oh my god what are you still doing here!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!! Vernon Koekemoer is coming!!!!\”