A three-story mansion with a swimming pool, in front of not one, but three Lamborghinis, extreme luxury everywhere.
In the meantime, the mansion has been confiscated. It was owned by a man accused of being involved in a corruption scandal. The damage to the state - 100 million euros.
Shot in front of her home
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) accuses the man of leading one of three crime syndicates in South Africa that "operated" in the healthcare sector. They received orders to supply medical equipment for the state-run Tembisa Hospital - without carrying out the procedures provided for by law. The criminal syndicates managed to get their hands on the orders by paying bribes to employees of the Ministry of Health. According to the SIU, the prices of the orders were incredibly inflated. Or the deliveries were not made at all.
Babita Deokaran, an accountant for the provincial authorities, noticed the irregularities and raised the alarm. Just 19 days later, she was shot dead in front of her home.
"She was one of those people who could not be bought even with all the money in the world - because of the principles she believed in and stood for,", says her relative Tony Haripersad.
After the murder of Deokaran, the situation in the country worsened even more. In 2025, a police commissioner warned that in the meantime, the criminal syndicates had undermined the entire judicial system. According to him, high-ranking police officers were bribed to drop investigations - such as the one into the state hospital affair.
"Risk of total collapse"
The commissioner goes even further: he accuses the then minister of police of covering up the scandals. "I want to show that the justice system has been sabotaged. And on a scale that risks total collapse", said Nlanla Mkwanazi. According to the commissioner, other institutions have also been affected by the influence of criminal networks.
The speaker of the South African parliament has therefore ordered special investigations. Currently, two committees of inquiry are investigating whether criminal syndicates have infiltrated the police, the courts and political structures. The committees also heard confessions from businessmen who tried to influence public procurement in their favor.
An entrepreneur linked to the Tembiza Hospital scandal admitted to giving around 25,000 euros to a former police minister. He claims that the minister helped him end the investigations against him. Under oath in parliament, the entrepreneur said that he gave the money because the minister asked for it.
A hotline has also been opened as part of the fight against corruption, where dozens of new reports have already been received. A number of people have even come in person and stated that they want to provide evidence.
"Clean up our country!"
Many South Africans are disillusioned and angry. Angry at both criminal networks and civil servants who misuse public funds. "Our message to the president and to parliament is: Please clean up our country, clean up our government", says Tony Haripersad in this regard.
South Africa has been battling rampant corruption for years. But only a few of the perpetrators go to prison. The former owner of the luxury mansion and three Lamborghinis is also still at large.