‘New evidence' — stalled R1bn Malusi Booi and Ralph Stanfield tender fraud case still on track
The DA's former Cape Town mayoral committee member Malusi Booi is not necessarily in the clear. This comes after the provisional dropping of charges linked to allegations of unlawfully awarded R1bn in contracts, against him and suspected 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield.
Former City of Cape Town DA human settlements mayoral committee member Malusi Booi took to social media a few days ago and thanked several people for believing in his 'innocence' after commercial crime charges against him were provisionally withdrawn.
But Booi and his co-accused, including suspected 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield, have not been acquitted or officially cleared of the charges.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) have made it clear that new evidence, which is being investigated, necessitated the provisional withdrawal.
This means that the charges can still be reinstated and that the new evidence may produce more criminal accusations or a bolstered case.
Politics and policing
Investigations into issues linked to Booi and Stanfield have become highly controversial – and political – and have led to accusations about what has been motivating police to act.
The City of Cape Town is DA-run while the SAPS is viewed as an ANC remit, so the overall situation creates the impression that tensions between the two parties are at play.
This weekend, Booi took to social media and effectively said he was the target of a smear campaign, much like Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith's insistence after a raid on his office earlier this year that has been linked to issues involving Stanfield.
While there have been smear campaign insinuations and while no one in the matter has been found guilty in a court, City of Cape Town officials have acknowledged dodgy dealings relating to its human settlements arena.
Carl Pophaim, who replaced Booi as Cape Town Mayco member for human settlements, previously told journalists that various investigations were focused on 'part of this one singular thing, an attempt to capture human settlements and construction in Cape Town'.
Merged, then provisionally dropped
Booi and nine others were accused of being involved in a tenders-for-cash enterprise, which the State has alleged was headed by Stanfield and his wife, Nicole Johnson.
The tenders flagged in the case were allegedly worth more than R1-billion.
Booi faced allegations that he accepted gratification from Stanfield and, in exchange, used his influence over tenders.
Aside from those commercial crime charges, Stanfield, Johnson and several others also face other criminal accusations.
Stanfield, for example, faces accusations that he was involved in the 2019 assassination of then Hard Livings gang boss Rashied Staggie.
Other charges against Stanfield and Johnson's co-accused in this case relate to the 2023 murder of City of Cape Town staff member Wendy Kloppers, who was shot at a housing development site in Delft.
She was killed, apparently because she had refused to give in to gangsters demanding contractors' work.
The commercial crime case, in which Booi was the main accused, had been merged with the criminal case in which Stanfield and Johnson were the key accused.
But on Friday, 23 May 2025, the tender-related commercial crime charges were provisionally withdrawn against Booi, Stanfield, Johnson and nine others.
While Stanfield, Johnson and several others remain in custody because of the criminal charges they face in the case set to resume in July, Booi, who was previously released on bail, no longer faces formal accusations.
'Purpose was to destroy me'
After the charges were provisionally dropped on Friday, Booi left the Cape Town Magistrates' Court and told journalists he was 'relieved' and was headed home 'to start a new life'.
Booi also took to the social media platform X that day to further express himself.
NEWS JUST IN
[WATCH]
Fraud related charges against former City of Cape Town Human Settlements MMC Malusi Booi and nine others have been withdrawn. They relate to a billion rand housing tender fraud within the city's human settlements directorate @NtuthuzeloNene pic.twitter.com/7YyTGJrvaO
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 23, 2025
He posted: 'I would like to take this opportunity to thank my 84-year-old mother, my ancestors, my partner, my entire family, friends, Nitta & crew, Manxasana & crew for their unwavering support & belief in my innocence!
'Thanks to the Nkomo Foundation. I maintain my innocence.'
Days later, on Sunday, 25 May, Booi took to X again, implying that he was the victim of a smear campaign.
'Just for the record! There was never a R1bn tender fraud City of Cape Town never lost a cent,' Booi's post said.
'There is no site or awarded tenders Why AG never picked it up or internal audit The purpose was to destroy me and tarnish my reputation! I pray a living God.'
Just for the record!
There was never a R1bn tender fraud
City of Cape Town never lost a cent
There is no site or awarded tenders
Why AG never picked it up or internal audit
The purpose was to destroy me and tarnish my reputation!
I pray a living God🙏
— Malusi Booi (@MalusiBooi) May 25, 2025
While Booi is 'relieved' at the withdrawal of charges, the NPA and SAPS have reiterated that it does not mean the case has ended or been derailed.
According to them, key information has been uncovered.
Fresh evidence
The Western Cape's NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila explained that the commercial crime charges had been provisionally withdrawn against Booi, Stanfield, Johnson and nine co-accused 'pending the finalisation of an investigation on newfound evidence against them'.
'Police discovered new evidence during their investigation, and it is apposite at this stage to provisionally withdraw the 16 commercial charges against the accused pending the finalisation of the investigation stemming from the newfound evidence.
'The State will reinstate the charges once the investigation has been finalised.'
Police in the Western Cape released a statement on the saga.
Brigadier Novela Potelwa said the case 'is still on course despite the provisional withdrawal of commercial charges'.
Charges can be reinstated
She said it was not uncommon for the direction of a complex investigation to change, based on new information.'It is envisaged that the commercial charges provisionally withdrawn will be reinstated in due course,' Potelwa said.
'The Western Cape SAPS feels compelled to give assurance that the decision [to provisionally withdraw the commercial charges] is by no means an indication of failure on the part of investigators.'
There is no indication of what the new evidence is.
Booi was arrested in September last year, several months after his City of Cape Town office was raided in March 2023. He has also been fired.
Earlier this year, another raid, which according to police was also linked to the whole Stanfield saga, kicked up even more controversy for the City of Cape Town.
SAPS and the City
On 24 January, police raided JP Smith's office and that of mayoral committee member Xanthea Limberg, who heads the city's energy portfolio.
Unlike what happened to Booi, Smith and Limberg were not suspended. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said there was insufficient evidence to warrant suspensions.
Smith has insisted that he is the target of a smear campaign and that the raid had been conducted to tarnish his name.
Earlier this month, Smith announced that he was taking legal action against the SAPS.
He said he had lodged an application in the Western Cape High Court because 'immediately after the searches I was advised that the warrants which contain numerous falsehoods, errors and critical omissions are unlawful and should be legally challenged'.
Smith said: 'The media frenzy and reputational harm resulting from the search on my office should never have been permitted.
'The allegations against me are false and there is abundant evidence in the public domain of my continued actions to do the exact opposite of which I am accused by SAPS, including the continuous taking action to remove compromised and corrupt individuals from the city'.
As if underscoring what Smith said about action against staffers, the SAPS announced last week that two City of Cape Town law enforcement officers had been arrested on charges of kidnapping and extortion.
Smith had issued a statement saying the city's Safety and Security Investigations Unit had launched an internal investigation, which led to the arrests.
Beyond smear claims – murder and red flags
In the Stanfield-linked saga, both Booi and Smith's official offices were raided, and both have since separately said they are the targets of smear campaigns.
On Sunday, a part of Booi's post on X said: 'The purpose was to destroy me and tarnish my reputation!'
As for Smith, earlier this month, in the statement on the legal action he launched against the SAPS, he said that he had been told the purpose of the campaign against him was to 'destroy my reputation'.
There are highly concerning aspects of the now provisionally withdrawn commercial crime charges and to the city's human settlement remit.
City manager Lungelo Mbandazayo previously told IOL that an investigation 'saw some of the officials from the human settlements department being suspended and others are attending disciplinary hearings.
'They were even tailor-making tenders before they went out, so those same companies could easily apply and be granted those tenders. They (the gangsters) don't operate in isolation.
'They exist because internally, there are people helping them. When you look at any criminal activity that is thriving, it's because people are conniving.'
Serious dangers are associated with this arena.
One of Booi's co-accused, who previously faced charges alongside him, was Abdul Kader Davids.
On 20 September 2024, two days after being released from custody on R250,000 bail in that case, Davids was fatally shot in the Cape Town suburb of Mitchells Plain. DM
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