Key Takeaways
- In June 2025 the Eastern Cape Education Department ordered 100 senior managers to settle an R18.5 million account with Khumzi Investments within four days, although more than half of the balance was not yet overdue.
- The reconciliation spreadsheet showed only R4.9 million (≈ ¼) of the outstanding amount was older than 120 days; the rest was current or within 30‑90 days.
- Khumzi, directed by Sakie Sakhumzi Magele, supplied mainly accommodation and travel services across nearly every directorate, with the MEC’s office accounting for the single largest exposure (R3.6 million).
- Invoicing surged eight‑fold in the first five months of 2025 compared with the whole of 2024, and many invoices lacked order numbers or dated back to 2019‑2021.
- Magele’s business interests have expanded: he now owns the former Arena Holdings newspapers (Daily Dispatch, The Herald, etc.) through Ubuntu Media Holdings, a shelf company linked to Arena’s former CEO.
- The department’s head, Sharon Maasdorp, is under a Public Service Commission probe for alleged maladministration, including accusations that she facilitated payments to Magele’s companies.
- Staff at the newly acquired newspapers have faced delayed salaries, prompting union concern and an anonymous open letter about fear of victimisation.
- Magele’s attorney threatened legal action against IOL for publishing the story, demanding source material and a pre‑publication veto, which the outlet refused.
Urgent Payment Directive
At 4.11 a.m. on a Thursday in June 2025, the Eastern Cape Department of Education issued a sweeping directive to 100 top‑level managers: clear Khumzi Investments’ R18.5 million account within four days. The email, sent by departmental official Amos Tamsanqa Fetsha and copied to 99 other senior staff, cited an instruction from Head of Department Sharon Maasdorp to “conclude all outstanding payments to Khumzi.” Recipients were told to open an attached spreadsheet, verify the figures with their chief directorates, and report back to Maasdorp by Monday, June 30, 2025. The same attachment had already been circulated on the department’s internal WhatsApp group for ease of reference.
Invoice Details and Ageing
The attached file, titled “Khumzi Recon,” reconciled the department’s ledger with Khumzi across 167 invoices spanning from October 21, 2019 to June 6, 2025, covering 48 directorates and categories. The total invoiced amounted to R25,635,112.06; payments already made totaled R7,149,957.37, leaving an outstanding balance of R18,485,154.69. Crucially, the ageing schedule attached to the spreadsheet revealed that only R4,900,006.74 (about a quarter) was older than 120 days. A further R2,759,772.82 was marked as current (not yet due), R8,009,074.01 sat in the 30‑day bracket, R1,546,594.94 in the 60‑day bracket, and R1,269,706.18 in the 90‑day bracket. Thus, more than half of the amount the department was urged to pay immediately was not yet overdue.
Scope of Khumzi’s Services
Khumzi’s billings touched almost every arm of the education department. Items included assessments and examinations, youth and special programmes, e‑teaching and learning, facilities management, infrastructure, the national school nutrition programme, and internal auditing. Many line‑items referenced a number of officials or “pax” (passenger) counts, indicating that the core of the charges was accommodation and travel services for departmental staff. The single largest exposure was the office of the MEC, which accounted for R3,639,440.24 of the total invoiced, with R3,522,416.96 still outstanding. The HOD’s office contributed a further R546,896.13.
Explosive Growth in Invoicing
The volume and value of Khumzi’s invoices rose dramatically in 2025. In the full year 2024, the department received just 29 invoices worth R2,542,492.02. By contrast, in the first five months and six days of 2025, Khumzi submitted 114 invoices totaling R20,904,237.84—roughly eight times the amount in less than half the time. Twelve of these invoices (valued at R1,632,314.10) carried no purchase‑order number at all, and six of those dated back to 2019 remained unpaid when the reconciliation was drawn. Eleven invoices predating 2022, together worth R1,577,430.60, were also still outstanding, the oldest being the October 21, 2019 invoice.
Prior Scrutiny and Ongoing Investigations
This is not the first time Khumzi’s dealings with the department have attracted attention. In May 2022, the Sunday Times reported that the company had received R39.8 million from the department in a single month (April 2021), comprised of R22.1 million for teacher accommodation linked to extracurricular activities and R17.7 million for training courses. Magele declined to comment, referring the newspaper to his attorney, who cited confidentiality agreements.
Meanwhile, Sharon Maasdorp herself is under investigation. In December 2025, Premier Oscar Mabuyane asked the Public Service Commission to examine allegations raised by Education MEC Fundile Gade. The commission’s inquiry, chaired by Commissioner Vusumuzi Mavuso, heard claims that Maasdorp attempted to influence a relative’s matric results, irregularly suspended and demoted senior officials, interfered in procurement processes, and authorised the transfer of R80 million earmarked for a school purchase that never occurred. One allegation links Maasdorp to a service provider allegedly connected to Magele, suggesting that she helped facilitate payments for a house she occupies. The suspended communications director, Vuyiseka Mboxela, was slated to testify about the close relationship between the HOD and a certain departmental service provider but declined to comment when approached by IOL. The commission’s report has not been made public.
From Contractor to Media Mogul
Magele’s influence extends beyond the education ledger. In August 2024, the online station The Voice Lounge—linked to him—began running advertisements in Daily Dispatch and The Herald, both then owned by Arena Holdings. A senior Arena executive, Bongani Siqoko, praised the partnership, stating that Arena believed in building ecosystems through collaborations and had been an early partner of The Voice Lounge.
Nine months later, Arena Holdings transferred its entire Eastern Cape newspaper portfolio to Ubuntu Media Holdings, a shelf company registered on February 20, 2026 (initially as K2026154195) and renamed Ubuntu Media Holdings on April 30, 2026—the day staff were informed of the deal, and the day before it took effect on May 1, 2026. Ubuntu Media Holdings’ three directors are:
- Letlhogonolo Alloysias Molebeledi (Pule Molebeledi), former Group CEO of Arena Holdings and the company’s sole director from registration until Magele’s appointment;
- Sakie Sakhumzi Magele, appointed on May 5, 2026, four days after the titles changed hands;
- Johannes Hermanus Peyper, of Peyper Attorneys in Bloemfontein, who acts as Magele’s legal counsel.
The transaction covered Daily Dispatch, The Herald, The Rep, Talk of the Town, and Go! & Express. Molebeledi’s staff memo described the counterparty only as “an Eastern Cape‑based private investment group,” pledging to preserve editorial independence.
Since the takeover, newspaper staff have reported delayed salaries. The SA National Editors’ Forum confirmed that July salaries were not paid on schedule, and employees published an anonymous open letter lamenting a culture of silence, fear of victimisation, and lack of communication. Salaries were eventually disbursed late on Thursday night and early Friday morning, shortly after IOL’s first report on the sale appeared.
Legal Threats and Non‑Response
IOL posed detailed questions to Magele through his attorney, Hector Schoeman of Peyper Attorneys, with a deadline of 10.30 p.m. on Saturday. Schoeman responded at 8.26 p.m., acknowledging the firm’s representation and labelling the allegations as “serious” and based on allegedly confidential information. He deemed the deadline unreasonable, demanded that IOL hand over its source material, and sought a written undertaking not to publish further articles until Magele had reviewed the correspondence, warning of urgent legal proceedings if inaccurate or defamatory content appeared.
IOL’s editor, Lance Witten, replied that the outlet was under no obligation to disclose its sources, that Magele had been given more than 72 hours to respond—exceeding Press Code expectations—and extended a new deadline to 6 p.m. on Monday. Schoeman reiterated his stance, threatening legal action and a punitive costs order. No substantive answers were provided to any of the questions, which covered: the nature of Khumzi’s services to the department, the contractual basis, reasons for the invoicing surge, authorisation of order‑number‑less invoices, Magele’s relationship with Maasdorp, and his shareholding in Ubuntu Media Holdings.
Broader Business Interests
Company records show Magele has registered or joined more than 20 entities over 22 years, beginning with Sakizandi Trading (a close corporation he controlled from June 2004). Fourteen of those entities have been finally deregistered for failing to lodge annual returns; one labour‑broking firm, Isidingo Personnel, is in provisional liquidation; another, Ubuntu Farm College, is undergoing deregistration. Five entities remain active: Khumzi Investments (the state‑contract holder), the newly formed Khumzi Empowerment Foundation (registered June 23, 2026), Kids Etc, Naldovision, and Ubuntu Media Holdings (the vehicle through which he acquired the newspapers).
IOL previously reported that the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality awarded Khumzi a three‑year travel management contract (tender CE 595) in October 2024. The municipality advertised for a panel of four agencies, received 11 bids, and awarded the contract to Khumzi as the “only responsive bidder,” quoting R10,613,278.98. The municipal spokesperson later gave a conflicting account, claiming two bidders qualified and one declined, but refused to disclose further details, citing confidentiality.
Conclusion
The June 2025 directive to clear Khumzi’s account highlights a pattern of rapid, large‑scale invoicing that largely consisted of current or near‑current debts, raising questions about the urgency and necessity of the payment demand. Khumzi’s dominant role as a supplier of accommodation and travel services, coupled with Sakie Magele’s swift ascent from government contractor to media proprietor, suggests a intertwining of public‑sector contracts and private business interests that is now under scrutiny by both the Public Service Commission and the press. The ongoing salary delays at the acquired newspapers and the legal threats from Magele’s counsel further underscore the tensions surrounding this concentration of power. As investigations continue, the education department’s procurement practices and the oversight of high‑value service providers remain critical areas for reform.