Businessman Bonelela Mgudlwa has distanced himself and his family from the damning findings of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) tribunal, after a multimillion-rand PPE tender in Mpumalanga was ruled invalid and unlawful. The tribunal’s decision, delivered this week, declared that the procurement process for the R14 million contract had been fatally flawed, ordering the owners of the implicated company to repay profits earned during the COVID-19 emergency period.
Mgudlwa, who co-owned the company with Katleho Mokonyane, issued a strongly worded statement challenging the tribunal’s conclusions. He stressed that he does not agree with the SIU’s assessment of his conduct, insisting that key elements of the findings were “misdirected and incomplete.” According to him, the ruling failed to consider evidence that would have clarified the company’s operational decisions during the peak of the pandemic.
He further addressed public speculation involving his wife, media personality Anele Mdoda, saying she has “absolutely no connection” to the tender under investigation. “Dragging her name into this matter is both unfair and factually incorrect,” he said, urging the public to refrain from associating her with business dealings she was not involved in.
The SIU tribunal found that the Mpumalanga Department of Health failed to follow lawful procurement processes when awarding the PPE contract. The company, jointly owned by Mokonyane and Mgudlwa, was found to have benefited from irregularities that undermined transparency and competitive bidding. As a result, the tribunal ordered the repayment of profits earned, though the final figure is yet to be confirmed pending further calculations.
The ruling forms part of the broader national effort to recover funds lost to irregular PPE tenders during the COVID-19 crisis, a period marked by urgent spending and widespread allegations of corruption. The SIU has been pursuing dozens of similar matters across the country in an attempt to recoup public money and hold implicated individuals accountable.
While Mokonyane has not yet publicly responded to the findings, Mgudlwa indicated he is considering further legal options. He maintains that he acted within the framework of the law and that the company fulfilled its contractual obligations.
The matter is expected to advance into another round of legal scrutiny, with both the SIU and the individuals implicated preparing for potential appeals and extended litigation.