The city had money to build houses for people who needed homes. But some of the people in charge are accused of giving the building contracts to a criminal's friends instead of the best company. One city official was accused of receiving secret gifts as a thank you. A whistleblower helped police, and prosecutors are still building the case.
A former senior Cape Town politician named Malusi Booi was accused of working with alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield and business associate Nicole Johnson to unfairly steer massive housing-related contracts. Booi was arrested in 2024, fired years earlier after SAPS raids, and saw commercial fraud charges provisionally withdrawn in May 2025 while detectives reworked the docket. He insists he is innocent; key co-accused remain in custody on other charges.
Expenditure figures linked to the story: Malusi Booi and the Cape Town Housing Tender Enterprise
R1bn
Approximate quantum cited in 2024 indictment covering eight mega human-settlement awards allegedly rigged for Stanfield-Johnson linked shells.
Court papers talked about more than R1 billion in housing contracts that might have been stolen through cheating.
Approximately R1bn — exact figure not confirmed.
B-BBEE: South Africa's Transformation Law — History, Impact, and Debate
Same accountability pattern — Housing tender fraud involves black-owned companies on paper that are fronts for criminal enterprises — the perversion of what BEE was designed to achieve
The Mkhwanazi Allegations & Madlanga Commission
Same accountability pattern — Both allege organised criminal networks embedded in government procurement.
Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act· Act 12 of 2004
Section Section 3
Gratification and abuse-of-office counts on the roll.
It is a crime to give, offer, receive or accept any kind of reward to make someone do their job dishonestly — whether you are in government or in business.
§ Section Section 22
Right to freely choose occupation undermined when extortionists control municipal building sites by violence.
Every citizen has the right to choose their trade, occupation or profession freely. Using violence to control people’s jobs or construction sites attacks that freedom.
This story touches 2 Acts of Parliament and 1 provision of the Constitution. These are the rules that were supposed to be followed — by police, prosecutors, ministers, and civil servants. When those rules aren't followed, ordinary people pay the price: crimes go uninvestigated, public money goes missing, and trust breaks down. The Record tracks every step so accountability has a paper trail.
Prevention of Organised Crime Act· Act 121 of 1998
Section Section 2
Pattern violence to capture public construction mirrors racketeering predicates referenced in allied prosecutions.
It is a serious crime to be part of a group — a "pattern of racketeering activity" — that repeatedly commits crimes for profit. The leaders and the members are all liable.
Section Section 4
Money laundering predicates where kickbacks moved through proxies.
Money-laundering style conduct: helping someone enjoy proceeds of crime, including layering and concealment.
Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act· Act 12 of 2004
Section Section 3
Gratification and abuse-of-office counts on the roll.
It is a crime to give, offer, receive or accept any kind of reward to make someone do their job dishonestly — whether you are in government or in business.
§ Section Section 22
Right to freely choose occupation undermined when extortionists control municipal building sites by violence.
Every citizen has the right to choose their trade, occupation or profession freely. Using violence to control people’s jobs or construction sites attacks that freedom.
This story touches 2 Acts of Parliament and 1 provision of the Constitution. These are the rules that were supposed to be followed — by police, prosecutors, ministers, and civil servants. When those rules aren't followed, ordinary people pay the price: crimes go uninvestigated, public money goes missing, and trust breaks down. The Record tracks every step so accountability has a paper trail.