JOHANNESBURG – The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicked off in Morocco in December 2025, South African media personality Minnie Dlamini stood in the spotlight, co-hosting the tournament’s flagship Netflix AFCON Daily Show alongside veteran broadcaster Robert Marawa.
Yet, that same month, a separate official statement revealed she had quietly settled with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), agreeing to repay R50,000 she “unlawfully received” from a tainted National Lotteries Commission (NLC) grant nine years earlier.
This stark contradiction is more than a personal paradox. It illuminates a disturbing pattern within South Africa’s glittering entertainment industry, where celebrated figures like Dlamini, Terry Pheto, and Arthur Mafokate find themselves entangled in what the SIU describes as a “criminal enterprise” that diverted an estimated R1.4 billion from public funds intended for community upliftment.
The settlement: Acknowledgment without contest
The SIU announced it had “successfully concluded a settlement agreement” with Dlamini, who received the money in 2016 from the Mshandukani Foundation NPO. The funds were part of an NLC grant of approximately R24.8 million intended for a 2016 Rio Olympic Games Roadshow, a purpose investigators found was never fulfilled.
“The SIU investigation revealed that the Mshandukani Foundation NPO… received approximately R24.8 million from the NLC. These funds were subsequently distributed to several beneficiaries, including Ms. Dlamini, without lawful justification,” the SIU stated.
Crucially, the unit noted that Dlamini “fully cooperated with the SIU investigation” and “acknowledged that the funds were not lawfully due to her.” Her repayment forms part of the SIU’s mandate to recover misappropriated funds “regardless of the amount involved.”
A chorus of celebs in the Lotto heist
Dlamini’s case is a single, small-scale example in a vast network of alleged corruption that implicates a who’s who of South African fame. The SIU’s Andy Mothibi has labelled the NLC itself a criminal enterprise, with investigations unearthing a complex web designed to benefit the connected.
· Terry Pheto & Presley Chweneyagae: The acclaimed stars of Tsotsi have been repeatedly named. Pheto was linked to a R5 million grant for a chicken farm project, where funds were diverted to companies connected to her and designer Thula Sindi. Chweneyagae’s foundation received R15 million for an arts programme, with parts of the sum allegedly funneled to the family of former NLC COO Philemon Letwaba and former board chair Professor Alfred Nevhutanda.
· Arthur Mafokate’s Failed Court Bid: The kwaito legend recently lost a High Court application to lift a preservation order on his La Villa Rosa guesthouse in Midrand. The court found “reasonable grounds” to believe the property was bought with proceeds from an R9.3 million NLC grant meant for youth music workshops that never happened. Judge Motha stated Mafokate’s version left the court “with more questions than answers.”
· Systemic Looting: The SIU has outlined a consistent scheme: corrupt NLC officials would work with complicit or hijacked non-profits to apply for grants for community projects—sports complexes, farms, arts programmes. Little to no work would be done, while the money was used to purchase luxury homes, cars (including a Rolls-Royce Phantom), and other assets for the officials and their associates.
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Public outcry and a career at a crossroads
The news of Dlamini’s settlement ignited immediate debate, reflecting a nation weary of corruption that spans from government to glamour.
· A damning perspective: One social media user connected the dots broadly, stating: “this minnie dlamini thing really proves that most local public figures are in bed with these corrupt individuals hence they’re hardly ever at the forefront when we’re outraged at such issues.” (X post)
· Questions of focus: Others questioned the SIU’s strategy, with one asking, “Maybe I don’t understand, but why is Minnie Dlamini to be the one paying where’s the board of Directors are legally accountable…?“ Another (on X) defended her: “I believe that Minnie Dlamini didn’t know… The @RSASIU wanted to just break the story using Minnie.”
The controversy strikes at a precarious moment in Dlamini’s career. Her AFCON hosting role is a major coup, following her being honoured with the Excellence in Entertainment award at the 2025 Forbes Africa Women’s Summit. Yet, public trust is a currency as valuable as any trophy in broadcasting.
This settlement, alongside her past comments on facing “misogynistic treatment” post-divorce, adds complexity to her public persona. The question is whether her cooperation with authorities and professional ascent can outweigh the reputational shadow of the scandal.
The real victims and the long road to justice
Beyond the headlines about celebrities, the true cost of the “Lotto Heist” is measured in broken promises to impoverished communities.
In Marikana, a fully built chicken farm—complete with a workers’ house and egg production facility—stands vandalised and idle, a ghost of a project meant to empower local women. A multi-million rand sports complex exists only on falsified reports. These are the stolen futures the SIU is trying to salvage.
The unit’s recovery efforts are multi-pronged:
· Targeting pensions: The SIU recently secured an interim order against former NLC senior manager Sanele Dlamini, preventing access to his pension after he was found guilty of misconduct for approving a R3 million payment for a non-existent sports facility.
· Seizing luxury assets: In collaboration with the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit, luxury properties and vehicles worth tens of millions have been preserved, pending final forfeiture to the state.
· Legal onslaught: The SIU continues civil and criminal processes. However, figures like former chair Nevhutanda are fighting back, challenging the very basis of the probe in court and arguing lottery funds are not “public money.”
Conclusion: A spotlight on accountability
Dlamini’s story is a microcosm of a national illness: the blurring of lines between opportunity and entitlement, between public service and private gain. As she analyses footballing glory on a global stage, the settled case from 2016 serves as a stark reminder that the beautiful game and ugly corruption can, and do, occupy the same space in South Africa.
Her journey from a settled SIU probe to the AFCON spotlight is not just a personal narrative—it is a national litmus test for accountability, asking how deep the roots of corruption have spread and whether public adoration can ever fully insulate celebrities from the consequences of compromised systems.
