The luxury Casambo Exclusive Guest Lodge is in shambles as an online auction to sell it and recover funds to pay back the money used to purchase it gets under way.
Carol Sanderson, a former Rise FM presenter, owned the lodge in Mpumalanga.
On Tuesday, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) released a video showing the inhabitable state the lodge is in, which is a far cry from its glory days four years ago.
In the video, the lodge appears dilapidated, with the roofs of all its various buildings falling apart. Some buildings also have missing walls, windows, and bricks that can be seen on the floor.
The pools of the once-famous lodge are green with algae, and the grass has appeared unkept for years.
The SIU said the online auction started at 10am today and will last until Thursday at noon.
Unopposed forfeiture order
“The sale of the property comes after the Special Investigating Unit and the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority received an unopposed forfeiture order from the High Court of South Africa: Gauteng Division in Pretoria,” the SIU said.
“The forfeiture order, dated March 20 2024, is concerning the corruption at Eskom’s Kusile power station at the Pretoria High Court.
“The forfeiture order also includes a commercial property in Mbombela, a house in an estate, five cars, a golf cart, and a quad bike, which are the proceeds of unlawful activities at Kusile power station following allegations of serious maladministration and corruption.”
Other assets forfeited include two portions of Casambo Exclusive Guest Lodge in Mbombela, a house in Stonehenge Ext 1 in Mbombela that is registered in the name of Muzi Sambo, a house in White River in Mbombela registered under the Casambo property development, a Lotus Europa vehicle, and a Subaru Impreza that is registered in Sanderson’s name.
The SIU also seized vehicles belonging to other people, including a VW Polo Vivo, a Hilux 2.5D-4D 4X4, a Yamaha golf cart, and a Yamaha Raptor 90 quad bike.
Payments made to Eskom officials
The SIU’s investigation found that an Eskom vendor, Tamukelo Business Enterprises, provided water trucking services to the Eskom Kusile project site from June 15 2009 to
November 2020, and made various payments to the benefit of various current and former Eskom officials.
“The SIU’s findings implicate the members and representatives of Tamukelo Business Enterprises,” said the crime-busting agency.
“The preliminary investigations by the SIU revealed that Eskom, in respect of this case, lost almost R400-million from the unlawful tender granted to the vendor.”
