Gauteng businessman Tuwani Matthews Mulaudzi is poised to regain control of his multibillion-rand business empire and substantial cash assets, following a failed 11th-hour effort by creditors to halt his rehabilitation. 

This development paves the way for Mulaudzi to face a Pretoria High Court judge on December 2, where his rehabilitation by effluxion of time is expected to be granted.

This would free him from the financial constraints he attributes to what he calls “trumped-up criminal charges”.

A decade-long saga led Mulaudzi to this point, beginning in 2014 with the collapse of his business interests. 

At that time, he faced charges of fraud, theft, money laundering, and racketeering, all related to a R48 million investment. 

Despite ultimately winning his lengthy trial in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court in 2022, his business empire was destroyed, leading to his liquidation and sequestration.

“From there onwards, Mulaudzi will have full rights to regain all his assets worth billions of rand and R105 million in cash he lost when he was liquidated and sequestrated,” highlighted the original report.

Mulaudzi, who is the executive chairperson of Luvhomba Group, a diversified conglomerate with interests in mining, IT, consulting, and retail, said he will finally be able to start afresh, free of any lingering debt.

The most recent obstacle to his rehabilitation was an urgent application filed by trustees Christopher Peter van Zyl, Oscar Jabulani Sithole, and Selby Musawonke Ntsibande, seeking to halt the December court date. 

However, their lawyers strategically removed the matter from the urgent roll on Monday, effectively rendering Mulaudzi’s rehabilitation a “fait accompli”.

The trustees’ lawyers were not available for comment by the time of publication.

However, a notice directed to the registrar confirmed this move, stating: “Be pleased to take notice that the above urgent application which is set down on the urgent roll for hearing on Tuesday, 2nd September 2025, is hereby removed from the roll, and postponed sine die (indefinitely).”

Mulaudzi said that since his acquittal in 2022, he has been engaged in a protracted battle to reclaim his assets from creditors, liquidators, and officials. 

He successfully argued in the Supreme Court of Appeal that his insolvency was a direct consequence of the “fictitious” charges brought against him.

“The criminals must return my belongings because I will be rehabilitated and free from debt. Therefore, by December 2, 2025, after 10 years, the sequestration and liquidation will naturally expire due to the passage of time and the operation of law,” Mulaudzi said.

Mulaudzi’s woes began in 2014 when Old Mutual accused him of ceding a R48 million investment to Nedbank but then demanding payment to himself upon maturity. 

The Assets Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) became involved, alleging that Mulaudzi had ceded a R33 million investment frontiers policy to Nedbank for R37.6 million, and later used the same policy to secure an overdraft facility with Absa.

The AFU claimed that when the policy matured, Mulaudzi requested the full R48 million be paid to him, which was deposited into his Absa account on June 6, 2014, before the cession to Nedbank was reflected on Old Mutual’s system.

Despite being cleared by the court in 2022, the financial damage was already done as his family had to drastically alter their lifestyle, according to Mulaudzi.

He is now pursuing a lawsuit against the State for malicious prosecution, initially claiming R5 billion. However, an actuary report later quantified his total losses at a staggering R184 billion.

This figure includes lost profits from Luvhomba Group’s electronics subsidiary (R120.3 million), shares in a coal mine and an e-commerce business (R246.5 million), a R100 million investment in a mining company, and Luvhomba assets worth R3.2 billion. 

He also lost R61 million in income from a contract with the Department of Education, R116.6 million in salary income, and R84.2 billion in dividends.

mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za

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