A day after the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) issued a scathing final report by the laid bare a “systemic and widespread” crisis at the Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital (NCMHH), a corruption case involving the building of the hospital complex was transferred from the district court to the high court.
One of the accused is former MEC for Transport, Roads and Public Works, and erstwhile Northern Cape ANC leader, John Fikile Block. He is still serving his parole on fraud charges in an unrelated matter.
The accused are Block; Patience Mercia Mokhali (former HOD); Motlalepula Elias Selemela (former HOD); Ruth Palm (former HOD); Babereki Consulting Engineers CC; Tshegolekae Motaung (Director of Babereki Consulting Engineers); Lourencia Crause; Louis Adriaan Van Niekerk; Monyahi Winston Modisa; and Edward Charles Pullen Petzer. The four co-accused, Crause, Van Niekerk, Modisa, and Petzer, who were directors of Strabismis Trading (Pty) Ltd and Babereki Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd, are charged in both their personal and fiduciary capacities.
They were finally handed their indictments, almost three years after their first court appearance. Some of the accused application to have the matter struck from the roll was unsuccessful, whilst others want to approach the high court with application to stay prosecution.
National Prosecution Authority spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane, says the accused face charges including fraud, corruption, money laundering, and contraventions of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), Act 1 of 1999.
The charges relate to the construction of the Kimberley Mental Hospital, which commenced in 2005 with an initial budget of R297 million. The project’s cost allegedly escalated to more than R1 billion due to delays, poor workmanship, irregular procurement processes, and repeated changes of contractors.
The financial prejudice in the matter has since increased significantly to over R88 million, resulting in additional corruption charges being brought against all accused.
“This prosecution forms part of broader investigations into allegations of public corruption and the mismanagement of state funds. The accused remain on bail following their court appearances. With the matter now transferred to the High Court, the prosecution and the investigation team are focusing on trial readiness and the next phase of the prosecution process. The National Prosecuting Authority remains committed to ensuring accountability and upholding the rule of law in all matters involving public funds and service delivery,” Senokoatsane says.
Also read: Magistrate issues ultimatum in R2 billion mental hospital corruption case
A pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for 23 April 2026.
In its report the SAHRC cited conditions at the hospital so dire they constitute a breach of the constitutional right to dignity, safety, and life.
The investigation into conditions at the hospital, initiated by the Commission’s Northern Cape Provincial Office following a series of alarming monitoring visits in early 2024, describes a facility in a state of advanced “infrastructural decay” and operational paralysis. Despite being designed as a state-of-the-art psychiatric facility, the hospital has become “uninhabitable” in several areas, forcing the closure of core services including its pharmacy, laundry, and mortuary.
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