Arthur Mafokate's legal woes continue to weigh heavy on him. This is after he failed in a bid to save his guest house in Midrand after it was attached by the National Prosecuting Authority's Asset Forfeit Unit (AFU). In January 2023, a preservation order was obtained by AFU and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) from the High Court in Pretoria to freeze Arthur's three luxury properties, a plot, a guest house and a portion of a farm linked to the alleged siphoning of lotteries grant funding meant for community development projects.

NLF SCANDAL

During the preservation order, the SIU said five non-profit organisations (NPOs) received grant funding of about R56.8m from the National Lotteries Fund (NLF) for community development projects in the country, including Arthur's NPO called South African Art and Development Association (SAADA). In court papers, the NPA states: "On 15 April 2013, two years after it commenced its business, SAADA, applied for grant funding from the NLC in terms of Section 30 of the Lotteries Act 57 of 1997 which authorises grants for the arts culture and heritage in the sum of R18m for a period of one year for the purposes of capacitating the youth, especially unemployed youth in the poor and rural areas of the country" The court papers also show that no poor youth across the country seemed to have benefitted, except or Arthur who only used R1.8m from the funding for the project. On 7 June 2014, more than a year after the grant funding application was submitted, half of the amount applied for was approved, in the sum of R9.3m and the money was paid to SAADA in two tranches of R4.6m each. The money was paid into Arthur's companies, 999 Music, SAADA and Roadshow Marketing. According to court papers, the money was used to purchase a guest house worth R7,5m in 2016 while some of it was paid into Arthur's home loans.

HE WAS NOT PERSONALLY ENTITLED TO THE MILLIONS

According to NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, Arthur argued in court papers that he was entitled to the R7.5 million as his businesses delivered the services as required by the NLC and that he had committed no offences. "However, the NPA argued that although some kinds of services were rendered, it was at most R1.8 million. The remainder of the funds were used to purchase the guest house, which was not the purpose of the grant allocation,' Mahanjana said, adding that the NPA insists the funds used to purchase the guest house were stolen from the NLC. "The court agreed with the NPA that it was against the terms and conditions of the grant for SAADA to carry over its obligations to any other organisation and that SAADA should have also returned any unused funds to the NLC. The court also found that Arthur Mafokate could give no reasonable explanation on how he could afford to purchase the guest house if it were not for NLC funds, particularly as his business accounts contained negligible balances when the grant was received from the NLC. "Therefore, the court dismissed, with costs, the application of Arthur Mafokate to have the guest house released from the preservation order,' she said.

EXPOSED BY BUSINESS PARTNER

Arthur's alleged fraud was exposed by his former manager and business partner Brian Mokoena. The two have worked together for over twenty years before their relationship went sour five years ago. In an affidavit dated 15 May 2019, Mokoena claimed that Arthur syphoned money from the NLC through his company and that it benefited only him and his 'girlfriend' Chomee and CiCi. "The NLC must properly investigate the South African Development Association as it was for the benefit of Arthur Mafokate. It was used as a lottery bag to prop-up his lifestyle and that of his girlfriends," Mokoena said in his affidavit. In his affidavit, Mokoena went on to say that he and Mafokate registered an NPO with the Department of Social Services in 2012. This organisation was formed with the following people: Arthur Mafokate (Chairperson), Thulisile Jean Madihlaba(Treasurer), Mokoma Rita Mafokate (DSG), Valentine Mamaila and Abigail Sithole, which was "unlawful and illegal." Mokoena was the secretary of the NPO.