Somandla Sibisi, director of Macronym 37 (Pty) Ltd, was ordered by the Special Tribunal to repay R1 million after the SIU found the payment was not a “genuine” sponsorship but a fraudulent transaction used to divert National Lotteries Commission grant funding.
The Special Tribunal has ruled that a R2.96 million grant awarded by the National Lotteries Commission to Fire Charismatic Chapel International was unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid, following an SIU investigation into alleged corruption linked to lottery funding.
The ruling orders multiple individuals and entities that benefited from the grant to repay the money to the SIU or the National Revenue Fund.
Those ordered to repay the funds include former NLC chief operating officer Philemon Letwaba, his associates and several companies that received payments from the grant.
The SIU investigation found that Fire Charismatic Chapel International, a non-profit organisation established to promote the Christian faith, had been hijacked and used to obtain lottery funding under false pretences.
