A Gauteng court has convicted Sipho Nkosinathi Maseko, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of Telkom SA, for failing to submit tax returns on behalf of five companies he directed.

The Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court found Maseko guilty in his capacity as director of One Fountain Properties, One Fountain Industries, One Fountain Capital, Afrifund Advisory Services and Afrifund Investments. The entities have paid an admission-of-guilt fine of R85 000.

Maseko faced 85 counts of contravening section 234(2)(d) of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011. The charges related to the failure to submit Pay As You Earn, Value-Added Tax and Corporate Income Tax returns over several years.

The case forms part of Project Honey Badger, a government initiative led by the National Prosecuting Authority, the South African Revenue Service and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation. The project targets individuals and entities that fail to meet their statutory tax obligations.

State Advocate Athenkosi Mancoba argued that Maseko and fellow director Sonwabo Mtshazo allowed the five companies to fail in submitting more than 85 tax returns across multiple years. The State told the court that this failure hampers SARS in fulfilling its mandate to administer tax effectively and collect revenue.

The entities have since submitted all their outstanding returns, which has enabled SARS to assess them.

Investigators opened the case in September 2025. The NPA confirmed that the investigation did not begin with a tip-off and was not conducted jointly with other agencies.

NPA spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole said the conviction reinforces the importance of complying with tax legislation and reminds taxpayers of their legal obligation to submit tax returns as required by law.

Maseko served as Telkom’s Group CEO from April 2013 until September 2022.

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