Sedibeng Mayor Denies Theft and Corruption Allegations

Lerato Maloka fights back against claims she stole mayoral chain and calls for investigation into municipal boss

Sedibeng District Municipality Mayor Lerato Maloka has strongly denied allegations that she stole the municipality’s expensive mayoral chain and is fighting back by asking the provincial government to investigate corruption in her own municipality.

Mayor Maloka held a media briefing on Wednesday afternoon (May 28) to clear her name after months of accusations and attacks.

She says she has become a victim of lies and harassment because she is trying to clean up the municipality.

What Are the Allegations?

The Sedibeng mayoral chain, valued at R465,000, mysteriously disappeared after the State of the District Address on 23 June 2023, but a case of theft was not opened until 12 November 2023.

The Municipal Manager and Security Manager have opened a criminal case against Mayor Maloka, claiming she stole the chain after a break-in at her office.

Other allegations against the Maloka include:

• Being behind the pouring of brown sugar into the engine of a Mercedes-Benz assigned to her
• Taking expensive trips using municipal money, including a costly flight to support an employee at a funeral
• Improper use of municipal resources

These allegations led to Mayor Maloka being removed from office by Council Vote of No Confidence in January 2025, but she was re-elected as mayor three weeks later.

Maloka vows to fight back

Instead of staying quiet, Mayor Maloka is now demanding her own investigation. She has written to the Gauteng MEC for Local Government, Jacob Mamabolo, asking for a full investigation into corruption at the municipality – but not into herself.

She wants the investigation to focus on Municipal Manager Mustumi Mathe, who she says has been:

• Paying himself and other officials about one million rand without getting permission from the council
• Making irregular appointments even though the municipality doesn’t have money
• Lying to the council about senior manager appointments
• Failing to do his job properly

“The Municipal Manager paid himself and other directors approximately a million rand without getting prior council approval,” Mayor Maloka said.

The Sedibeng District Municipality has been struggling with money for three years. They can’t create a proper budget because they have too many staff members, which means they can’t pay for important services that communities need.

The municipality has also failed to fully implement recommendations from a previous investigation that found the former Municipal Manager, Stanley Khanyile (who was later murdered), had committed corruption.

Mayor Says She’s Being Targeted

The former Lesedi Local Municipality mayor believes she is being attacked because she is a woman leader trying to fight corruption.

She says the past three years have been difficult, with constant accusations, failed attempts to remove her from office, and rebellion from her own committee members.

“I have become a victim of public scorn, I have been countlessly intimidated, unfairly harassed and had the media unleashed on me to spread falsehoods,” she said.

The mayor also revealed she fears for her safety: “I am tired of looking over my shoulder, all the time for fear of my life.”

What Happens Next?

Mayor Maloka has also written to the Public Protector asking for help. She says her efforts to make the municipality follow the law and serve the people properly have been ignored.

She claims the Speaker of the council is also part of the problem, refusing to hold proper meetings and even changing meeting minutes to cover up poor performance.

“I trust that my request for these investigations will be objective and independent enough even if I will be subjected thereto,” Mayor Maloka concluded.