NPA's Asset Forfeiture Unit attaches R3m Gqeberha home of former ANC bigwig

• The NPA will sell the R3 million home of Oscar Mabuyane's former special adviser, Zandisile Qupe.
• The NPA believes Qupe bought the house in 2015 with money siphoned from the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
• Qupe is one of 14 people facing charges of fraud, money laundering and corruption relating to two questionable municipal projects, worth a total of R56.4 million.

Former Nelson Mandela Bay ANC regional secretary Zandisile Qupe's R3 million Gqeberha home has been attached by the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) Asset Forfeiture Unit.

The house will be sold and the proceeds will be transferred to the National Treasury, the NPA said in a statement.

The NPA said Qupe purchased the house in cash in February 2015 for R3 million, which it believes he got from R56.4 million siphoned from the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.

READ | Eastern Cape premier welcomes arrest of municipal officials

At the time, Qupe was the Nelson Mandela Bay ANC regional secretary and allegedly got the money from a businessman to ensure he got lucrative tenders from the municipality.

Payments totalling just over R3 million were made to Qupe's private bank account by businessman Fareed Fakir, 52, between 27 September 2013 and 31 January 2015, the NPA said.

Qupe and Fakir are two of 14 accused facing charges of fraud, money laundering and corruption relating to two questionable municipal projects, worth a total of R56.4 million.

The money paid to Qupe came from Fakir's Heerkos Projects CC business account, the NPA said.

"It is alleged that the amount was gratification in exchange for the awarding of the projects. Qupe allegedly used the R3 million to buy his Gqeberha property," said NPA spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani. 

The Port Elizabeth High Court granted the NPA's Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) a preservation order against Qupe's R3 million property.

Ngcakani said the fraud, corruption and money laundering case relates to two Nelson Mandela Bay municipal projects. 

She said: "It is alleged that the process of choosing the service providers for the projects was irregular and that prices were allegedly inflated."

ALSO READ | 15 Eastern Cape ANC members reported to integrity committee for rape, sexual assault, fraud and corruption

Qupe, Fakir and others will appear in the Port Elizabeth Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on 28 January 2022.

At the time of their arrests in November 2020, Qupe was a special adviser to Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane. He was also the head of elections for the ANC in the Eastern Cape during the 2019 general elections.

Eastern Cape regional head of the AFU, Chris Ndzengu, in an affidavit submitted in court for the application of the preservation order, stated that corruption is a plight in society as it corrodes the national culture and ethos of democracy and good governance, which depletes scarce resources and manifests itself in the abuse of authority.

The preservation order was obtained through the efforts of the AFU, Hawks and police forensic investigators.