‘Assassination plot’ uncovered amid Sassa fraud crackdown - TimesLIVE

The South African Social Security Agency’s (Sassa) intensified crackdown on fraud and corruption within its own ranks has resulted in an alleged assassination plot against a senior Eastern Cape official, as the agency looks to recover more than R10m stolen from its system.

Sassa regional manager Bandile Maqetuka has revealed that he opened a criminal case in KuGompo City after receiving information earlier this month that a hitman had allegedly been hired to kill him.

The threat, which he believes is linked to the agency’s anti-fraud operations, emerged as Sassa continues to uncover corruption involving both beneficiaries and officials in a bid to dismantle syndicates accused of exploiting the grant system.

Maqetuka said he was alerted to the alleged plot shortly before travelling to an outreach imbizo in Mthatha.

“I opened a case at the Fleet Street police station after I was tipped off about [someone] from Dutywa who had sought the assistance of a hitman to take my life,” he said.

“Just before I left [for the imbizo], I got a call from someone who was initially part of the plot and we met physically.

“The person told me that the instigator thought I would be doing a stop at the Dutywa office.

“Remember, our Dutywa office is where we had bust the syndicate that was operating there ...

“I don’t know why they thought I would be stopping there because that was not part of my plans.”

In July last year, five officials from the Dutywa office were dismissed after allegedly working with a syndicate that created fraudulent beneficiaries and grant applications.

The officials were supplying bank account details, addresses and beneficiary information to facilitate the scheme.

The officials were dismissed following disciplinary proceedings and subsequently lost their appeals.

“When we visited some of the addresses, those people were not known there.

“We discovered that even the surnames were not common surnames in the Eastern Cape. Some were surnames more commonly found in KwaZulu-Natal.

“When we checked our systems, we found that some of the beneficiary files did not even exist.

“We opened criminal cases against them. We are now busy recovering the financial losses suffered by Sassa.”

There are about another 1,000 cases we are following involving our own staff members.

Maqetuka said preservation orders had also been sought to prevent implicated officials from accessing their pension benefits while investigations continued.

Meanwhile, he said a similar case had been identified at the Mdantsane office in June, where five junior staff members were allegedly found to be operating with the syndicate.

“There are about another 1,000 cases we are following involving our own staff members.”

He said investigations currently under way involved suspected losses of about R10m, though the figure could rise.

Maqetuka said Sassa’s national verification systems routinely identified people receiving grants despite allegedly failing to disclose income, employment or other financial benefits.

The agency regularly cross-checked its database against information held by banks, government departments and credit bureaus.

“We have identified a lot of people who are not supposed to be in our system,” he said.

“Some are owning companies and getting government tenders. Some are government employees. Some have undisclosed income.

“The reports come from Pretoria. We don’t generate them ourselves.

“The system compares information from different databases and flags possible irregularities.”

He cautioned, however, that employment alone did not automatically disqualify a person from receiving a grant.

“There are grants that are not means-tested. For instance, a foster-care grant.

“Whether you are a millionaire or not, you can still qualify because it is for the child.

“Some people may be contract workers earning below the threshold and still qualify for certain grants.”

His comments come weeks after dozens of municipal employees at the Enoch Mgijima municipality were found to be receiving social grants.

The agency intends to recoup funds from 25 employees who were allegedly found to be receiving various grants despite being employed.

The revelation came during a payroll audit, triggering a referral to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

Though the municipality handed Sassa a list of 54 workers, Enoch Mgijima spokesperson Lonwabo Khowa said 25 employees had been implicated in wrongdoing.

The implicated staff were allegedly found to be receiving disability grants, child support grants, and old-age grants.

Responding to this, Maqetuka said each case needed to be investigated individually before conclusions could be drawn.

Where fraud was detected, he said, the agency opened debt recovery processes, referred matters to law enforcement agencies and pursued disciplinary action against employees involved.

“We have recovered some money from people. Some have signed acknowledgements of debt and are paying back the money. But that does not stop the criminal process.”

Sassa CEO Themba Matlou confirmed the agency was aware of the threats against Maqetuka and said the organisation had significantly strengthened its fraud prevention systems over the past two years.

Matlou said Sassa had mechanisms in place to protect employees facing threats.

“Crime is alive in this country. Anyone standing in the way of people who want to commit crime may face threats.

“But we work with law enforcement agencies and state security structures. Cases are opened, investigated and action is taken.”

He said biometric verification technologies, including fingerprint and facial recognition systems linked directly to the department of home affairs, had dramatically reduced opportunities for fraud.

The agency had also expanded its cybersecurity capabilities after fraudsters attempted to clone Sassa websites and exploit online grant systems.

Matlou said that in the first quarter of the current financial year, Sassa had reviewed 8,263 social grants in the Eastern Cape.

A total of 4,979 grants had been suspended, while 23 grants were under investigation for possible fraud.

He said the agency planned to intensify the reviews during the current quarter, from July to September, as part of efforts to clean its database and protect public funds.

Police spokesperson Brig Nobuntu Gantana confirmed a case had been opened.

“A case of intimidation was opened at KuGompo SAPS on September 11 2026.

“The case is currently under investigation by the Serious and Violent Crime Investigation Unit.”