Suspended National Lotteries Commission (NLC) company secretary Nompumelelo Nene has resigned after earning nearly R6 million on full pay since her suspension on 18 November 2022. Her last official day with the NLC was 28 February 2025.
Nene faced 145 disciplinary charges related to financial mismanagement, improper appointments, conflicts of interest, and irregular expenditure. Instead of facing the disciplinary process, she launched multiple legal challenges, attempting to halt the proceedings. Now, she has resigned, claiming unfair treatment.
A Resignation Amid Controversy
In her resignation letter, Nene alleged that her suspension amounted to unfair, constructive dismissal, arguing that it violated her employment contract. However, the NLC has refuted these claims, insisting that she resigned to avoid the disciplinary inquiry and a likely guilty verdict.
One of the most serious charges against her was allegedly instructing the NLC’s chief information officer to delete grant beneficiary records from the NLC’s IT system—an act that may have been intended to cover up corruption linked to multimillion-rand lottery-funded projects.
The Corruption Allegations Against Nene
Investigations by the NLC’s new leadership uncovered missing key documents tied to proactive funding, a mechanism at the heart of widespread corruption in the organization. Charges against Nene included:
- Financial misconduct in the appointment of service providers, including the MSG Group, which was paid R1.7 million for a Women’s Day “flash mob activation” that never took place.
- Conflict of interest, failing to disclose ties to Rebotile Malomane, wife of former NLC chief operating officer Philemon Letwaba, who benefited from millions in lottery funds.
- Irregular expenditure, including the appointment of Neo Solutions, which received R26 million in fees from the NLC.
- Improper appointments, such as hiring Mabotle Mokwebo as a senior corporate governance specialist, despite conflicts of interest linked to her associates receiving NLC tenders.
- Irregular advertising expenses, with Sunday World receiving R24.7 million in NLC ad payments between 2020 and 2022.
Nene was also involved in an attempt to classify lottery-funded projects as ‘secret’, moving them offline to avoid scrutiny. She even supported the NLC’s controversial request for the State Security Agency to investigate leaks exposing corruption within the organization.
Legal Battles and Costly Court Defeats
Throughout 2024, Nene launched several legal bids to stop her disciplinary process, all of which were unsuccessful:
- March 2024: Her urgent court bid to halt disciplinary proceedings was dismissed as “without merit,” with the judge considering punitive costs against her attorneys.
- April 2024: The court ruled that Nene herself—not her legal team—should be personally liable for punitive costs due to wasting judicial resources.
- November 2024: She lost an attempt to compel the Auditor-General, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Competition, and the NLC to hand over documents to support her case. The judge dismissed it as a “fishing expedition.”
Nene also challenged the Auditor-General’s findings from 2019/20 and 2020/21, which implicated her in unauthorized expenditure on media services, accountants, and auditors. With her resignation, it remains uncertain if she will continue pursuing this legal battle.
Silence Amid Scandal
When approached for comment via WhatsApp, Nene did not respond.
As the NLC attempts to recover from a deep-rooted corruption crisis, her resignation marks another chapter in the ongoing cleanup of the embattled entity. However, whether she will face further legal consequences for her alleged misconduct remains to be seen.
