Musician loses court battle

Summary:

The Pretoria High Court has dismissed an application by musician Arthur Mafokate to release his luxury Midrand property from a preservation order. The property, a guest house, was confiscated after allegations of fraud and corruption against Mafokate and his organization, the South African Arts and Development Organisation (SAADA), emerged. The court found that Mafokate's business used R9.3 million from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) for a project, but only R1.8 million was actually spent on the project, with the rest being used to purchase the property. The court ruled that the funds used to purchase the property were stolen from the NLC and ordered the property to be sold at auction, with proceeds returning to the NLC.