Auditor’s death may also be linked to corruption probe in transport department.
EIGHTEEN months after his death, family and former colleagues are still in the dark over the mysterious murder of Andile Matshaya, an internal auditor at the Department of Transport.
They have raised concerns about the delay in resolving the corruption buster’s case. His colleagues have called on Transport Minister Dipuo Peters to allow police free access to her department to speed up investigations.
Matshaya, who was from East London, was strangled to death in May last year in the Easy Stay Hotel in Pietermaritzburg. At the time of his death, he was a performance auditor at the department’s national office.
His job entailed checking on the performance of contractors awarded multimillion-rand tenders by the department, potentially uncovering corruption and misuse of state funds.
The circumstances around his murder suggest it was not simply a robbery gone wrong – nothing was stolen from his room, nor did it appear to have been broken into.
Police say they finalised their investigations months ago and are now waiting for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to make a decision on whether to lay criminal charges.
When approached for comment, KwaZulu-Natal NPA spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the director of public prosecutions was unable to comment on the case. “That advocate is on leave till Monday and I can only comment once I have spoken to her,” she said.
Matshaya’s older brother, Reverend Nkosiphendule Matshaya, said the family wanted closure. “Our brother was killed, he was strangled to death and we strongly believe his death had to do with the work he was doing at the DoT . All we want is for the perpetrators, which we believe are known, to be arrested.”
He said it had been a difficult 18 months for the family. “We feel there is a cover-up. The footage at the hotel was destroyed and his work laptop stolen a few days later; how is that possible?”
The Dispatch has seen a police murder report on Matshaya’s case. Compiled by Pietermaritzburg detectives, the report suggests Matshaya was murdered as a result of his audit findings.
A colleague, who wanted to remain anonymous over fears of victimisation, said some of the audits being conducted by the deceased were projects that senior DoT officials were involved in.
“Everybody at the department knows that Matshaya was killed for doing this work.
“Many of the officials or their relatives have fingers in projects the department awarded and Matshaya discovered that.
“He was told to work with the officials otherwise he was at risk…he continued because he loved his job. He died knowing there were threats and he knew the people who threatened him,” said the source.
“His death was no surprise, we saw this coming.”
Another source said while current DoT minister Peters had been assisting investigators, “there are stumbling blocks in the department; people who don’t want the police to hear what his colleagues know about his death”.
He said police should be allowed free access to the department’s employees.
Despite numerous calls and an e-mail to the DoT, spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso could not be reached for comment.
Last month, forensic auditor Lawrence Moepi of the audit firm Sizwe, Ntsaluba and Gobodo was killed in a suspected hit, which happened as he arrived at his Johannesburg office. Apparently, Moepi was working on cases involving suspected corruption. It was suspected he was killed to shut him up.
Matshaya’s younger brother, Odwa believes his sibling’s death was a hit.
“The deceased’s wife told us that his life was threatened. Strangely enough on the day he died he told his wife to take care of the children. The next day he was dead. Nothing was stolen from his room; those people were there to kill him,” said Odwa. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
No progress in official’s puzzling assassination
EIGHTEEN months after his death, family and former colleagues are still in the dark over the mysterious murder of Andile Matshaya, an internal auditor at the Department of Transport.
They have raised concerns about the delay in resolving the corruption buster’s case. His colleagues have called on Transport Minister Dipuo Peters to allow police free access to her department to speed up investigations.
Matshaya, who was from East London, was strangled to death in May last year in the Easy Stay Hotel in Pietermaritzburg. At the time of his death, he was a performance auditor at the department’s national office.
His job entailed checking on the performance of contractors awarded multimillion-rand tenders by the department, potentially uncovering corruption and misuse of state funds.
The circumstances around his murder suggest it was not simply a robbery gone wrong – nothing was stolen from his room, nor did it appear to have been broken into.
Police say they finalised their investigations months ago and are now waiting for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to make a decision on whether to lay criminal charges.
When approached for comment, KwaZulu-Natal NPA spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the director of public prosecutions was unable to comment on the case. “That advocate is on leave till Monday and I can only comment once I have spoken to her,” she said.
Matshaya’s older brother, Reverend Nkosiphendule Matshaya, said the family wanted closure. “Our brother was killed, he was strangled to death and we strongly believe his death had to do with the work he was doing at the DoT . All we want is for the perpetrators, which we believe are known, to be arrested.”
He said it had been a difficult 18 months for the family. “We feel there is a cover-up. The footage at the hotel was destroyed and his work laptop stolen a few days later; how is that possible?”
The Dispatch has seen a police murder report on Matshaya’s case. Compiled by Pietermaritzburg detectives, the report suggests Matshaya was murdered as a result of his audit findings.
A colleague, who wanted to remain anonymous over fears of victimisation, said some of the audits being conducted by the deceased were projects that senior DoT officials were involved in.
“Everybody at the department knows that Matshaya was killed for doing this work.
“Many of the officials or their relatives have fingers in projects the department awarded and Matshaya discovered that.
“He was told to work with the officials otherwise he was at risk…he continued because he loved his job. He died knowing there were threats and he knew the people who threatened him,” said the source.
“His death was no surprise, we saw this coming.”
Another source said while current DoT minister Peters had been assisting investigators, “there are stumbling blocks in the department; people who don’t want the police to hear what his colleagues know about his death”.
He said police should be allowed free access to the department’s employees.
Despite numerous calls and an e-mail to the DoT, spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso could not be reached for comment.
Last month, forensic auditor Lawrence Moepi of the audit firm Sizwe, Ntsaluba and Gobodo was killed in a suspected hit, which happened as he arrived at his Johannesburg office. Apparently, Moepi was working on cases involving suspected corruption. It was suspected he was killed to shut him up.
Matshaya’s younger brother, Odwa believes his sibling’s death was a hit.
“The deceased’s wife told us that his life was threatened. Strangely enough on the day he died he told his wife to take care of the children. The next day he was dead. Nothing was stolen from his room; those people were there to kill him,” said Odwa. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
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