The seven luxury vehicles belonging to businessman Siyabonga Nkosi and his trusts subject to a Special Tribunal order obtained by the Special Investigating Unit.
Image: RSASIU/x
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) secured a preservation order for two dozen luxury properties and supercars worth millions of rands belonging to tenderpreneur Siyabonga Nkosi after he overcharged power utility Eskom.
The properties are in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, according to the order obtained by the SIU at the Special Tribunal last month.
Nkosi’s portfolio of 17 properties includes a R13.5 million house at the Capital on the Park in Tshwane and a R10.8m house in Witfontein, also in the capital city.
In KwaZulu-Natal, Nkosi has four properties valued between R5.7m and R12.7m, of which three are in Zimbali. The properties were bought between 2016 and 2023.
Seven of Nkosi’s supercars are also subject to the SIU’s preservation order. They include five Porsche Cayenne, Panamera and Macan as well as two Lamborghini Urus. All the properties and cars are registered in Nkosi’s name and the Nkosi Royal Trust, Sibongukukhanya Trust, and Siyabonga KaNkosi Trust.
Special Tribunal president Judge Bernard Ngoepe ordered that Nkosi’s immovable properties, with immediate effect, are prohibited from being sold, disposed of, leased, encumbered (including by granting rights of retention), transferred, donated, or dealt with in any manner whatsoever other than in accordance with his order.
According to the tribunal's order, Nkosi and twelve others must register a notice against the properties. This means that without a written agreement between the SIU and any of the involved parties, they cannot transfer ownership of the properties to anyone else.
Judge Ngoepe stated that Nkosi and anyone aware of the order are not allowed to use, sell, dispose of, lease, donate, or transfer the luxury vehicles mentioned in the order. They cannot make any agreements or take any actions regarding these vehicles unless they follow the rules set out in the order.
The judge also instructed the Road Traffic Management Corporation, which owns the electronic National Traffic Information System (eNaTIS), to place a notice on the registration details of the motor vehicles in eNaTIS. This notice states that, without a written agreement between the SIU and any of the parties involved in the application, the transfer of ownership of the vehicles is prohibited. Additionally, the registration of the vehicles to any other person is not allowed unless it follows the tribunal's order or has court approval.
Nkosi, his trusts and trustees were directed to disclose the whereabouts of the motor vehicles and to point it out to the corruption busting unit or its duly appointed agents immediately on the service of the order.
They must ensure that the motor vehicles are insured in the amount equivalent to their current replacement value and maintain such insurance until the review application brought by the SIU is finalised.
The SIU has filed an application to review, set aside and declare invalid and set aside the decisions to approve the purchase orders against all the Eskom vendors who procured relays for Kusile and Matla power stations between 2021 and 2023 within 60 days from March 25, 2026 as well as to declare the resultant contract void ab initio (null from the beginning) and seek consequential relief.
According to the SIU, Nkosi’s companies delivered invoices and Eskom officials signed off on contracts that priced relays at R50,000 each, when the market price was between R180 and R450.
As a result, the manipulation led to a direct financial loss of over R73.6m to Eskom.