How Mzwinilas ‘built’ an empire using hard cash
Staff Writer | Monday January 12, 2026 06:00
The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) alleges the couple used government contracts and layered business structures to acquire property and move money through agricultural ventures.
The case is driven by an affidavit from Chief Anti-Corruption Officer Emalerona Makgasi Mogwera, who leads the investigation. Filed under the Proceeds and Instruments of Crime Act (PICA), her statement forms the basis of the Director of Public Prosecutions’ (DPP) application to freeze Mzwinila’s properties, bank accounts and company interests across the country.
According to Mogwera, the DCEC began its inquiry in December 2024, following an anonymous tip alleging that the Mzwinilas were living far beyond their means. She writes that the couple, married in community of property, held “a vast amount of land, vehicles, and cash”, inconsistent with any known legitimate source of income.
Farm in Ramotlabaki
In her preliminary investigations, Mogwera states that it emerged that Psychologists Botswana purchased five adjacent farms in Ramotlabaki from Mpho Balopi. She states that four integrated farms and one horticultural farm were combined into a single farm of about 67.6021 hectares.
“One of the reasons this property became of significant interest was that Mpho Balopi confirmed to us that indeed he sold the property to Psychologists Botswana to the tune of P1,675,000.00. What struck me as of interest was the fact that this substantial amount of money was paid to Mpho Balopi in hard cash at the Mzwinila residence and sometimes at Psychology Botswana offices,” she stated.
Mogwera further stated that in her experience as an investigator in financial crimes, when large amounts of hard cash are used to purchase property, especially under circumstances where a party can simply use the banking system, it may be to conceal or clean the tainted origins of the cash.
“Cash is commonly used in money laundering enterprises and in a case, such as this one, where a company belonging to a prominent influential person, makes such a significant purchase of close to P2 million in cash, yet fails, refuses or neglects to avail themselves to tender an explanation of the source of the cash, this creates an even further suspicion of there being a serious crime related,” she stated.
Mogwere further states that while continuing investigations, on the farm, she discovered four boreholes drilled in this farm by a company named Vara Drill (Pty) Ltd. “The business director, one Serigiri Redy, affirms that the amounts of P50,000.00 and P100,000.00 were paid to them by Bridgette Mzwinila. These amounts, just like the amounts paid to Balopi, were paid in hard cash,” she stated.
Mogwera states that there is reasonable suspicion that Bridget may have possibly attempted to defeat the ends of justice. She said Redy has submitted a document where he alleges that she called him sometime in July 2025 and told him that if anybody asks him about the payment for the borehole, he should lie and submit something called a payment plan. She is said to have delivered the said document to Redy.
Further, she said there is a bachelor pad built on this farm, and it is reasonably suspected to have been built with the proceeds of crime. She states that the builder of the house, Hardlife Marinda, affirms that all the materials used to develop this house and even the labour, were all paid for in cash, mostly given to him by Bridget.
“In this case, the sheer magnitude of the developments which the interested parties made has created a solid suspicion that either they as individuals, or Psychologists Botswana, was in possession of unexplained wealth,” she stated.
Ploughing field in Kgalapitsa
Mogwera also wanted a ploughing field in Kgalapitsa to be restrained. The property was allegedly purchased in 2021 from one Moemedi Mbakile by Bridget. She states that the seller told them that the property was purchased for the tune of P450,000.00 and paid in hard cash.
She states that from her investigations, Bridget’s only possible source of wealth from the time her husband was a minister was that she was either a director or shareholder of several interested party companies. This, she said, does not satisfactorily explain her source of a relatively large amount of cash.
“Bridget Mzwinila developed this property, and all the developments were paid for in cash. My investigations have unearthed an electrified boundary wall, a four-bedroomed house, staff quarters, a reservoir, three boreholes, and irrigation pipes, amongst others,” she states.
She said the boreholes were also drilled by Redy while the houses were built by Marimba, with material and labour all paid for in cash received from Bridget. She said Bridget has failed or refused to avail herself to satisfactorily explain this wealth. The property is registered in the names of Wealth Structure, a company of which Bridget is the sole director and shareholder.
Mogwera said, upon being called to explain the wealth, on the agreed date of the meeting, 17 November 2025, investigators learnt from their attorney that the two would not make it to the meeting as there was flooding in the area where they resided, being Boladu, Oodi.
Residential property at Mosokolo ward in Mmadinare
The investigators found that even though Mzwinila had built the house, there had been vast developments on it. She said the builder, Marimaba, states the house was renovated and refurbished, all paid in hard cash. In addition, Mzwinila is said to have built a two-bedroom house in hard cash.
Farm equipment
The investigators also state that they found various farm machinery
The investigators also state that they found farm machinery, including an unregistered tractor, on the various properties belonging to the Mzwinilas. They state that between 2018 and 2025, the Ministry of Lands and Water Affairs, under the leadership of Mzwinila as the minister, awarded tenders to Zhentai, China Habour, China State, China Civil, Okavango Joint Venture, amongst others.
According to Mogwera, these companies then subcontracted, amongst others, two companies, being Rider (Pty) Ltd and New Energy Company (Pty) Ltd.
“On or about February 2024, New Energy purchased the unregistered Bhero tractor and its implements. In October 2023, a JCB back-loader, which at the time belonged to Riders, its ownership was transferred to Bridget Mzwinila,” she stated, adding that all the other equipment was purchased for Bridget and was found at Boladu Farm.
Cash amounting to P700, 990.62 and P14, 080.00
Meanwhile the investigators also received information that Mzwinila and wife made cash deposits into Maru- A- Pula school bank account, as purported advanced school fees for their children who were students there.
“The money amounted to P700, 990.62. We have established that most of the deposits were made in cash at various ATM machines. On the 8th September 2025, Maru-A-Pula school received a written instruction where Mzwinila was ordering them to transfer ZAR 153 000.00 to St John’s College in South Africa,” reads the papers.
Mzwinila is said to have then sent another letter rescinding his earlier instruction and now instructing the school to transfer the money to his ABSA account. In consideration of the vast cash deposits and the movement of monies either to purchase goods or for any other use, Mogwera wanted the money to be restrained pending the finalisation of her investigations.
While the investigations were proceeding at Maru-A-Pula school, investigators discovered that additional monies were amounting to P14,080.00, suspected to be part of the unexplained wealth possessed by the Mzwinilas.
Mogwera stated that they needed the assets to be frozen as they had established that Bringban, a mover and logistics company, were engaged to move goods from the Boladu property to South Africa. She also stated that following the failure to show up at the DCEC offices, the Mzwinilas skipped the country.
FIA had raised concerns
In a 2023 report, the sudden popularity of hard cash as a payment method sparked fears of dirty money activities, as the value of cash transactions required to be reported to the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) more than doubled to P62 billion in the 2022-23 financial year.
FIA shared data showing that cash transactions reports – or those involving amounts of P10,000 and above – jumped to P61.7 billion in 2022-23, from P25.5 billion in the prior year. By way of context, the cash transaction reports were measured at just P7.9 billion in 2018.
Cash is the preferred payment method for illicit financial activities, which include money laundering, as it bypasses checks and balances at institutions such as banks and is more difficult to trace for authorities.
“This pattern shows an increasing preference for use of cash over the years,” FIA officials said in their inaugural annual report released in 2023. “It is important to note that an increase in cash transactions has a significant bearing on the money laundering vulnerabilities of a jurisdiction, as a cash-intensive economy tends to allow for easier laundering of illicit proceeds.”