Deputy President Paul Mashatile declared a R37-million house in Waterfall as his own property, despite it belonging to a company owned by his son, Thabiso Mashatile, and his son-in-law, Nceba Nonkwelo.

News24 previously reported that Mashatile and his new bride, Humile Mjongile, had moved into the luxurious property shortly after he was sworn in as a Member of Parliament in March.

His spokesperson, Vukani Mde, said that, at the time, the move was a result of serious threats to Mashatile and his family's safety from a former girlfriend, Gugu Nkosi.

Nonkwelo had previously received at least four loans from a Gauteng government housing entity, the Gauteng Partnership Fund, for the development of student accommodation in Highlands, Johannesburg.

More than a decade later, the property remains undeveloped, while another company owned by Nonkwelo provided the loan to Legacy Properties, of which he and Mashatile Jr are directors, to purchase the Waterfall house.

He also declared his home in Kelvin, a property he has owned for nearly two decades.

It is unclear why Mashatile declared the property as his, when the declaration makes specific provision for declarations of any material benefits. Mde told News24 that Mashatile declared the property "because it is his primary residence". 

"The declaration is not a confirmation of anything other than that fact," he added.

The deputy president has exclusive use of OR Tambo House, a large property inside Bryntirion Estate, a secure government-owned complex, which has homes for the use of ministers and the executive.

The Register of Members' Interests was published by Parliament on Wednesday and includes declarations by all MPs.

Mashatile declared several gifts, including a bottle of Russian vodka from the Russian ambassador, a leather document bag from the Belgian Royals, and a Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 phone.

His declaration, as published, denotes no value to any of these gifts, but the Samsung device – gifted by Samsung CEO Jong-Hee Han – is valued at between R30 000 and R40 000, depending on the storage size.

Mde said Mashatile had not been aware of the retail prices of the gifts. 

Professor Alex van den Heever, a governance expert and adjunct professor at the Wits School of Governance, said the purpose of such a register was to clarify whether an MP has a potential conflict of interest.

"When public authority is given to individuals, it is expected that they exercise this authority exclusively in the public interest. Where private interests exist for anyone exercising the special powers of government, it can be expected that the public interest will not be prioritised," he said.

Van den Heever is the chair of Social Security Systems Administration and Management Studies at Wits - and, as part of this role, he teaches governance to civil servants.

The Code of Conduct for MPs published on Parliament's website is clear on what must be declared – company directorships and trusts, whether the member is a trustee or beneficiary, must be declared, according to the code. 

But Mashatile failed to declare two directorships of companies, and that he is a trustee of two trusts, possibly in violation of the rules.

According to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), Mashatile is currently registered as a director of two companies – Dibata Bata Investments and Dakawa Properties.

Dakawa is an ANC property holding company, and he was appointed by virtue of his position as treasurer-general of the party, which he held prior to becoming deputy president.

Dibata Bata Investments is a company that Mashatile previously declared a 25% interest in as far back as 2006 when he was a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, and it was one of the companies at the centre of a conflict-of-interest investigation.

Dibata Bata was founded by Mashatile, Mike Maile and two other close friends and Alex Mafia members, Nkenke Kekana and Bridgman Sithole.

Sithole and Kekana have resigned as directors of the company, while Mashatile and Maile remain.

Mashatile and Kekana previously said the company had never traded.

According to CIPC records, the company is in a final deregistration process, because no annual returns have been filed for several years.

The company, however, meant Mashatile had intended to be in business with his friends, who through another entity held shares in Business Connexion, a company that was awarded contracts by Gauteng government entities which were under Mashatile's purview at the time.

Mashatile was cleared of wrongdoing by the then Gauteng integrity commissioner, Judge Jules Browde, but his failure to declare the directorships could put him in hot water with Parliament's Ethics Committee.

Similarly, so could his failure to declare that he is a trustee of two trusts.

Mashatile has been a trustee of the Khesani Family Trust since 1999 with his late wife, Manzi, who died in 2020. He is also registered as a trustee for the Alexandra HD Charitable Foundation Trust with his long-time friend and member of the Alex Mafia, Maile, since 2008.  

The Alexandra Trust has a third trustee, David M Morobe.

Mashatile did not declare these two trusts and very little is known about the operations thereof, or who the beneficiaries are.

"The failure of a member to declare their interests unavoidably results in an inference that they have a material private interest that is in conflict with their public office that they wish to keep hidden.

"After all, an honest person would have no fear of any such declaration. It is worth noting that any conduct that is influenced by any such interest could rise to the level of corruption.

"Where an interest has not been declared, the individual concerned should be subjected to a full investigation, as their conduct would strongly suggest that they have something important to hide," he added.

Mashatile's spokesperson, Mde, said both companies of which Mashatile is a director are dormant. Dibata Bata, according to Mashatile's knowledge, was deregistered, he said. He was no longer linked to Dakawa he added. Dakawa, however, still owns ANC properties and is not dormant, News24 has established. 

"The Khesani trust was registered in the 1990s with the intention to use it as the primary vehicle to buy and hold family property. It was never used for this or any other purpose and has been dormant for two decades, similarly with the foundation, which was never used for its intended purpose," Mde said.