Manyaba Rubben Mohlaloga, a former Member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and Land Affairs, has been ordered to report to the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court today to commence serving a 20-year prison sentence.
This development marks the culmination of a lengthy legal process stemming from a 2019 conviction. On 14 February 2019, Mohlaloga was sentenced for his role in a multi-million rand corruption case. His imprisonment follows an order from the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on 8 August 2025, which directed him to begin his sentence after his appeals were exhausted.
The case, initially investigated by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit, was registered in Brooklyn in October 2012. Investigations uncovered that in February 2008, a R6 million grant from the AgriBEE Fund was irregularly paid to a designated entity. The payment was made on the verbal instruction of the then-CEO of the Land Bank, bypassing all requisite approval procedures.
The AgriBEE Fund, valued at R100 million, was allocated by Parliament and managed by the Land Bank to promote the empowerment of previously disadvantaged farmers. The Land Bank itself brought the matter to the Hawks’ attention.
In his capacity as the then Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Mohlaloga was found to be among the individuals who personally benefitted from the illicitly approved grant. He was subsequently found guilty on one count of fraud and one count of money laundering.
The court sentenced him to 15 years’ imprisonment for each count. However, 10 years of the money laundering sentence were ordered to run concurrently with the fraud sentence, resulting in an effective 20-year term.
Following his initial sentencing, Mohlaloga lodged unsuccessful appeals with both the Pretoria High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal. After the SCA’s August 2025 order, he filed an urgent application to extend his bail, pending an intended application for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court.
This final bid for freedom was opposed by the State and heard in the Pretoria High Court on 16 September 2025. The court refused the application for bail on 13 October 2025 and ordered Mohlaloga to surrender himself for incarceration, leading to today’s commencement of his sentence.
