Suspended KwaZulu-Natal Correctional Services Commissioner Mnikelwa Nxele has been arrested on charges of fraud and money laundering .
The National Prosecuting Authority’s anti-corruption unit arrested Nxele on Tuesday, 23 June . He is expected to make his first appearance in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday .
The charges relate to allegations spanning nearly two decades, from 2004 to 2023 . Nxele was placed on precautionary suspension in May 2025 over corruption allegations linked to procurement processes .
Nxele has previously claimed he was targeted for exposing alleged wrongdoing within the department . He raised concerns about irregularities in food procurement, claiming prices were massively inflated . He has also claimed he was being punished for whistleblowing on inflated prison food supply contracts, involving National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale .
The Department of Correctional Services has rejected those claims, stating Nxele was attempting to deflect attention from his own disciplinary issues .
The arrest follows years of sustained investigations by the Special Investigating Unit into procurement irregularities within the department . The former Bosasa executive Angelo Agrizzi also implicated Nxele in state capture testimony, alleging he received around R50,000 a month in bribes from the facilities management company .