A senior Athletics South Africa (ASA) executive, after repaying nearly R400,000 he had used to pay for personal expenses from a dodgy multimillion-rand Lottery grant, could still face prosecution, Ground Up reports.
Terrence Magogodela, ASAs acting Chief Executive Officer, played a key role in an allegedly corrupt R15-million lottery grant to Inqaba Yokulinda, a non-profit organisation (NPO), meant to oversee and manage a project to build an athletics track in Kimberley.
Magogodela, ASAs chief financial officer at the time, was listed as the project coordinator of Inqaba Yokulinda in the grant application submitted to the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), even though he was an official of ASA.
Inqaba Yokulinda paid R10-million of the R15-million grant to Unicus Solu(IT)ons (Pty) Ltd , owned by Jabu Sibanda, which was to be responsible for developing the athletics track.
But rather than use the money for the track, Sibanda spent millions on things unrelated to the project, including settling personal debts.
A letter endorsing the project, supposedly signed by ASA President Aleck Skhosana, was included in the Inqaba Yokulinda application. But ASA spokesperson Sifiso Cele previously told GroundUp that Skhosana had refused to sign the letter endorsing the project as the request did not conform to our relevant policies.
Money from the grant was also used to cover legal and transfer duties on a house Magogodela bought in an upmarket Centurion housing estate.
Magogodela repaid almost R400,000 to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which on 25 April said it would apply for a court order to lift a Special Tribunal preservation order over his house.
However, the settlement agreement does not constitute a full and final settlement between the parties, the SIU said. SIU remains entitled to join Mr Magogodela in any future proceeding and claim appropriate relief from him.
The athletics track was eventually completed by Inqaba Yokulinda, who took over the management of the project after the NLC allocated a further R4.27-million in 2019.
Magogodela's R400 000 'loan'
Magogodela claimed the R400,000 was a loan from Unicuss Jabu Sibanda, which he was repaying. He initially opposed the preservation order. In an affidavit, he denied that he unduly benefited or was involved in any irregular conduct.
However, he did subsequently enter into an agreement with the SIU to repay the money. The SIU is tasked with recovering corrupt funds.
A comprehensive document setting out the SIU case against Magogodela was sent anonymously to ASA. GroundUp was also sent the document by a source whose identity is known to us.
The document examines the terms of the loan from Sibanda in which Magogodela would have to pay interest at 9% per annum from 1 March 2018 until it was repaid. However, repayments would only start on 1 September 2018 with monthly instalments of R2,500. There was also a 10% collection commission payable on every instalment.
The AoD (admission of debt) and its payment terms are not, as Mr Magogodela and Mr Sibanda contend, standard arms length commercial terms, the document points out. Ignoring the accumulation of interest and assuming that the 10% collection commission is paid separately, it would take Mr Magogodela until December 2031 to repay the capital alone.
Magogodela initially failed to honour the separate settlement agreement he had reached with the SIU to repay R388,733, which included legal costs, curator costs, and the amount that he was unduly enriched of, the SIU said in its statement.
The SIU then approached the Special Tribunal for an application, granted in February 2022, to freeze his Gauteng home.
Magogodelas lawyer, Dev Maharaj, denied that Magogodela had failed to honour the settlement agreement with the SIU to repay the loan money but had merely requested more time to raise the final instalment.
There was indeed a legitimate loan from Mr Sibanda but that loan to him was not repaid fully, Maharaj said. Mr Magogodela felt that it was a moral obligation on his part to repay the full amount to the SIU when he learnt of the actual source of the funds from where the loan amount was paid.
There is now a legal dispute between Magogodela and Sibanda regarding repayment of the outstanding loan amount, which has been referred for arbitration and it will be premature to comment on it, Maharaj said.
Magogodela not off the hook
A source with direct knowledge of the investigation said the SIU docket on Inqaba Yokulinda had been sent to the NPA a long time ago with a recommendation that the people involved be criminally prosecuted.
This is one of at least 30 Lottery-related corruption cases in the hands of the NPA awaiting a decision on whether or not to prosecute.
Mr Magogodela will b
