The owner of the pit bull that mauled a gardener to death has been identified as former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) chief operating officer (COO) Phillemon Letwaba.
The gardener, who has also been identified as Stevens Mabuse, was mauled to death by the dog in the early hours of 18 October when he returned to the house in Marapyane in Mmametlhake, Mpumalanga, where he lived and took care of the dogs.
PHILLEMON LETWABA’S PIT BULL MAULS EMPLOYEE TO DEATH
Following the incident, South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said the pit bulls were often locked up and only released between 1:00 and 4:30 to conduct some patrols on the premises.
Mdhluli said 58-year-old Mabuse went for an outing at night on 17 October and was somehow attacked by the pit bull when he returned home which resulted in his untimely death.
“Thereafter, the victim was discovered by a security guard, lying motionless on the ground, with multiple injuries as well as a pitbull dog was found next to the victim.
“The employer was notified and reported the matter to the authorities. Upon arrival at the scene, they found him motionless, lying on the ground with some visible injuries on his body. He was unfortunately certified dead by the medical personnel,” he explained.
An inquest was then opened and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) put down the pit bull on 19 October.
FORMER NLC BOSS ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION
Letwaba who resigned from the NLC just weeks before his disciplinary hearing in 2022 was accused of shifting multimillion-rand grants to non-profit organisations in which his friends and family had a hand.
In April this year. the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) obtained an interdict from the Special Tribunal to stop the sale of a farm in Limpopo that is linked to Phillemon Letwaba and his brother, Johannes Letwaba.
The SIU said said the 3 426 128 hectares farm which was on sale for R5 million is registered under the Mosokoti Business Trust, whose trustees are the Letwaba brothers.
The SIU said it received a tip-off from a whistleblower about the sale of the farm and its potential link to NLC funds.
Following the tip-off, the SIU found that the farm was purchased using NLC funds siphoned through two organisations, which include organisation Lulamisa Community Development Organisation NPO.
A probe revealed that in July 2015, an application for grant funding for Lulamisa Community Development Organisation (Lulamisa) was submitted to the NLC.
On the application form, the NPO was requesting an amount of R85 million for “hosting the Commonwealth Games, which would benefit the people of South Africa and boost the economy of the city of Durban”.
The NLC granted Lulamisa R80 million in two tranches of R64 million and R16 million, respectively.
Between 1 and 31 March 2016, Lulamisa made various payments to Iron Bridge Travelling Agency totalling R2 712 269.77. Phillemon Letwaba’s wife, Rebotile Malomane, owns Iron Bridge Travelling Agency.
