MAHIKENG – The High Court in Mahikeng has struck from the roll an urgent application by Tshenolo Waste (Pty) Ltd seeking to compel the North West Department of Health to transfer medical waste contracts to them.
Acting Judge T.A. Tsautse ruled that the urgency of the matter was entirely “self-created” due to unexplained delays by the company.
The founder of Tshenolo Waste was the alleged tenderpreneur Wandile Bozwana, who was shot dead on a highway ramp in Gauteng in October 2015. Four men were arrested, prosecuted, and convicted by the Pretoria High Court in June 2022 for premeditated murder, attempted murder, and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition: notorious Pretoria taxi boss Vusi “Khekhe” Mathibela and hitmen Sipho Patrick Hudla, Matamela Robert Mutapa, and Bongani Paul Khumalo.
Legal arguments and suspension of orders
The case stems from an earlier court order granted on 29 May this year by Acting Judge M. Morgan. That order directed the MEC for Health to immediately terminate a month-to-month contract with Ultimate Waste (Pty) Ltd and utilise Tshenolo’s services to ensure the uninterrupted removal of health risk waste. Shortly thereafter, however, Ultimate and the MEC submitted applications for leave to appeal against that order.
Under Section 18(1) of the Superior Courts Act, the operation and execution of a decision are automatically suspended once an application for leave to appeal is lodged, except under exceptional circumstances. Tshenolo argued, however, that the order was interlocutory in nature and, under Section 18(2), not subject to suspension.
The court found it unnecessary to make a final ruling on the classification of the order, as Tshenolo had in any event failed to establish the urgency of its application.
According to the court’s timeline, the order was already available on 5 June this year. Tshenolo was aware by 19 June that the department was not complying with its demands, and by 30 June had official confirmation that both respondents were pursuing appeal processes.
Despite this, Tshenolo only launched its application on 13 July, more than five weeks after the order was granted, and without any reasonable or satisfactory explanation for the 24-day delay between 19 June and 13 July.
Court’s findings on urgency and costs
Judge Tsautse found that a litigant alleging ongoing harm cannot leave a substantial period of non-compliance unexplained and then rely on the accumulated consequences of its own passivity to claim urgency.
The court also found that there was no material evidence that the removal of medical waste was currently hanging in the balance or that an immediate public health hazard existed, as Ultimate was still operating as the service provider and removing the waste. The application was struck from the roll with costs awarded against Tshenolo.
Broader legal battles and historical context
Beyond the North West court ruling, Tshenolo Waste was locked in a high-profile legal battle in Gauteng in 2023. The Gauteng Department of Health awarded a massive R526-million medical waste removal contract to Tshenolo Waste and Phuting Waste to replace long-term service provider Buhle Waste. Buhle Waste took the matter to court, resulting in a Johannesburg High Court judgment setting aside the award. However, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned that decision in July 2025, ultimately validating Tshenolo Waste’s tender award.
Years earlier, Tshenolo Resources (affiliated with the same brand or group) was the subject of an investigative report by the Mail & Guardian concerning an emergency hazardous medical waste removal contract with the Northern Cape Department of Health. Allegations at the time involved whistleblowers raising concerns over bid pricing, infrastructure readiness, and handling standards during emergency waste removals.
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