Mzwinilas get assets, passports back
Staff Writer | Wednesday January 28, 2026 11:12
According to the order, what the state did by flagging the Mzwinila family passports was unlawful. The court further ruled that the state should stop ‘warrantless’ search and seizures on their properties.
“The respondent (state) is further directed to immediately return seized items together with a full account,” the order further reads. The case emanates from a lifestyle audit of the former minister and his wife, Bridgette Mzwinila, who are allegedly currently outside the country. 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.
Mogwera said 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.
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.
However, in his defence, Mzwnila through his attorneys, argued that DPP’s case was premised on an allegation that Mzwinila, while serving as Minister, influenced or participated in the award of public tenders, thereby rendering assets associated with him susceptible to restraint as alleged proceeds of crime.
“That allegation is advanced without the pleading of a single tender, without annexing a single invitation to tender, evaluation report, adjudication record, or contract, and without alleging how, when, or through what mechanism such influence could have been exercised,” they state.
Mzwinila argued that a minister has no role whatsoever in the evaluation, adjudication, or award of tenders. They submit that those processes are undertaken by designated procurement structures in accordance with statute, and the ultimate decision-maker is the Accounting Officer, being the Permanent Secretary or the head of the relevant parastatal.