Mkhwanazi takes charge of investigation into Tongaat Hulett

Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi convened a closed-door meeting in Durban with key stakeholders — including sugar growers and the Zulu Royal Household — to manage mounting tensions surrounding Tongaat Hulett.

The Police Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who also co-ordinates the national fight against Organised Crime, has taken personal charge of an ongoing alleged organised crime criminal investigation into the liquidation of Tongaat Hulett.

On Friday, Mkhwanazi convened a special closed-door meeting at the KZN headquarters in Durban, necessitated by an ongoing alleged Organised Crime criminal investigation into the liquidation of Tongaat Hullet.

SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, speaking to media outside the venue, confirmed the investigation is active but would not name the complainant or say when the docket was opened, citing operational sensitivity.

The meeting brought together Tongaat Hulett's business rescue management, the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), KwaZulu-Natal sugarcane growers and representatives of the Zulu Royal Household.

Media were not allowed into the meeting, with special attendees asking not to be interviewed as it was a private meeting.

This is not the first time Tongaat Hulett has been at the centre of a criminal lens. The company's collapse traces back to 2019 when an accounting scandal emerged. PwC investigators found management had inflated profits by R12 billion over several years through fictitious cane supply agreements and early recognition of land sales.

The scandal led to a criminal complaint and the suspension of its shares on the JSE in July 2022 after it failed to publish audited results. The company entered voluntary business rescue on October 27, 2022, with all non-executive directors resigning days later. Control passed to business rescue practitioners.

Since then, the rescue has been mired in litigation and competing bids. The first major attempt to recapitalise the company involved Magister Investments, a Mauritian vehicle linked to Zimbabwe's Rudland family.

Shareholders were asked in August 2024 to approve a R4bn rights issue that would have made Magister the majority owner with 60% of the company. The plan collapsed amid concerns about Magister's 41% mystery shareholder and its link to Gold Leaf Tobacco, which faces allegations of illicit cigarette trading.

The current rescue plan, adopted by creditors in January 2024, required the sale of all assets to a new owner. Two bidders emerged: the Vision Group consortium led by Mpumalanga billionaire Robert Gumede, and Terris Sugar, a Mauritian company linked to the RGS Group.

Vision, which already held a large portion of Tongaat's bank debt, was selected. In June 2026, the IDC, Vision and the practitioners signed a binding agreement. Under it, the IDC's R2.75bn post-commencement finance, which was keeping mills running, would be converted into a 25% equity stake in Vision's southern African sugar operations across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana.

Vision would own the remainder. That deal is still being contested, with Terris Sugar challenging the selection process in court. On August 24, the Constitutional Court ruled against Tongaat in a separate matter, refusing leave to appeal in a dispute with the South African Sugar Association over R517 million in industry levies.

Mkhwanazi's involvement now elevates the matter beyond commercial litigation.

In a separate scandal, seven former Tongaat Hulett executives and a former auditor were arrested and first appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court on February 10, 2022 on fraud charges initially valued at R1.5bn, increasing to R3.5bn.

Peter Staude, Murray Hector Munro, Michael Edward Deighton, Rory Edward Wilkinson, Kamasagrie Singh, Samantha Shukla and former Deloitte audit partner Gavin Dykes Kruger were each released on R30,000 bail.

The matter was last heard in the Durban High Court on September 10, when it was postponed to March 18, 2027 after the State requested time to secure a fresh racketeering certificate.