The Hawks in Limpopo have withdrawn an investigation for corruption, fraud and money-laundering against Polokwane executive mayor John Mpe.
Not only that, but the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) also offered to pay Mpe’s legal costs totalling R1.2-million.
This development came this week when the Hawks filed a withdrawal notice at the Polokwane High Court.
The Hawks had applied to have access to the gift register of the Polokwane Municipality to see if Mpe had received corrupt gifts through his Makoro Foundation.
This the DPCI was doing with a view to support their preliminary conclusion that Mpe was involved in a corrupt, fraudulent and money-laundering relationship with the foundation using the municipality.
But unbeknownst to everyone and without stated reasons, on Thursday, the Hawks abandoned the matter. “Please take notice that the first (Hawks) and second applicants (investigator Ngoako Kgatle) hereby withdraw their urgent application set down for hearing on the 29th of July 2025 and consents to pay respondents taxed party and party costs,” reads the notice of withdrawal filed at the Polokwane High Court on Thursday.
The probe against Mpe by the Hawks had its genesis in November last year when the elite crime-fighting unit informed the municipal manager of Polokwane Municipality that they were investigating a case of fraud, corruption and money laundering against Mpe and Makoro Foundation for receiving a donation in 2023 from an unnamed company rendering services to the municipality.
The Hawks informed the municipal manager that the investigation was based on a complaint lodged by an unidentified person in 2023. To that end, the DPCI demanded access to documents from the municipality regarding the declaration of donations received by the foundation.
The Hawks had further demanded that the municipality respond by December 15, 2024, which was the scheduled weekend for the ANC Peter Mokaba regional conference.
At the time, Mpe’s camp claimed that they had information that the manoeuvre was intended to arrest Mpe during the regional conference, wherein he was billed to run for regional chairperson, which would have disqualified him from running.
Three days before the deadline to the municipality by the Hawks, Mpe launched an application in the high court for an interdict against the Hawks and its investigator Kgatle to stop with the “politically charged investigation”, and threats to arrest him without any legal basis or evidence.
The interdict application, which is now academic after Hawks’ withdrawal, was scheduled for argument next year.
Last month, the Hawks and Kgatle then instituted an urgent application against Mpe, the municipality, the municipal manager and Makoro Foundation, demanding the gift register in which the probe hinges.
A month later on Thursday, they abandoned the offensive without reason. Kgatle in the affidavit supporting the notice of motion had argued that Mpe’s interdict application was a “technical nicety” meant to “delay the investigation of national serious priority”.
The investigator was insistent that in 2023, Mpe had organised an event funded and sponsored by service providers to the municipality he leads as mayor.
“The Makoro Foundation was established solely to serve the purposes of mischaracterising the proceeds as gifts for a noble cause,” the investigator’s founding affidavit reads.
Mpe has accused the Hawks investigator of launching the investigation for political reasons and having no lawful mandate from the relevant officials to investigate the mayor and institute the urgent application.
The mayor also charged that the investigator in his founding affidavit was personal and emotional, claiming that Mpe is already guilty of corruption even when there is no evidence, and the investigation is not completed. In the replying affidavit, the investigator also claimed the municipal manager was Mpe’s “hired gun”.
But above all Mpe’s argument has been that the investigation was malicious from Day 1 since there was never a statement sought from him.
“When considering that the investigation by the Hawks is seemingly conducted without transparency, there is a real prospect that I will be subjected to an unlawful process, and this will cause me and Makoro Foundation significant prejudice,” Mpe’s responding affidavit reads.
“If the Hawks are allowed to complete the investigation and subsequently charge me without giving me an opportunity to respond to the allegations, my ultimate victory will be hollow and not vindicate my rights to fair, reasonable, rational and lawful actions from the Hawks.”
Hawks national spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mbambo did not respond to questions on why the investigation was dropped.
Those in Mpe’s camp insist it was abandoned because Mpe was re-elected regional chairman and that the interdict only set for November 2026 would come after the provincial conference, where he is touted to stand for ANC provincial chairperson.
