MK Party chief whip Colleen Makhubele allegedly pushed a R1.8-million contract with the party for a company linked to her “spouse” and sought a job for him as her advisor, leading to the now reversed decision by the party’s caucus of whips to boot her out.
The company, BillionkeyBK, was registered in 2017 with Ofentse Molausi, chairperson of the South African Rainbow Alliance (SARA), as its sole director, according to official CIPC records. However, the MK Party’s internal document asserted that Makhubele was a co-owner. Makhubele was leading SARA before she joined the MK Party.
And while the internal report by the party’s whippery — a group of whips — repeatedly referred to Molausi as Makhubele’s “spouse,” government marriage records indicate that Makhubele is divorced and that Molausi has never been formally married. Party insiders, however, maintained that the two were in a relationship, a claim that formed the basis of the report’s “spousal” description.
The internal party report showed that Makhubele’s suspension was triggered by allegations that she attempted to channel party funds to a company she directs and sought to secure employment for her husband.
Key Million for Billionkey
The report followed an emergency meeting of the party’s “Whippery” caucus on September 26, which found that Makhubele had drafted a service level agreement that would have paid BillionkeyBK (Pty) Ltd a service fee of R185,301 per month for unspecified services.
The proposed contract, which sought retrospective billing, had a backdate of July 1, 2025, and would have amounted to over R1.8m annually had it been approved. The document states that suspended Deputy President John Hlophe refused to sign the agreement, which prevented it from taking effect.
The whippery report stated that “no one within the caucus or party structures has been able to establish how the chief whip arrived at this amount, nor what methodology was applied in setting it” in reference to the proposed BillionkeyBK contract.
The document described the arrangement as representing “a grave conflict of interest, raising corruption concerns, and standing in direct contrast to the HR Committee’s recommendation for appointing actual staff”.
The allegations represent the latest governance scandal to hit South Africa’s political landscape and have exposed deep divisions within the MK Party, which has emerged as a significant political force since its formation last year.
Failed attempts to lobby support
The internal investigation also found that Makhubele had “improperly lobbied for spousal employment” by attempting to have Moalusi appointed as parliamentary support staff, alongside an unnamed secretary-general of SARA.
The report described a “backdated contract dated 1 July 2025” with a “self-determined salary and work-from-home arrangement” that Makhubele allegedly sought for her husband. It further notes that she attempted to secure an audience with MK Party President Jacob Zuma in Durban to advance the appointment, accompanied by another MP, but the effort “failed.”
Makhubele, who previously served as Speaker of the Johannesburg council, also failed South Africa’s parliamentary intelligence vetting process, according to the report, rendering her ineligible to serve on the intelligence portfolio committee. But media reports showed that she denied the allegation, saying no vetting application was submitted for her to the State Security Agency.
The report recommended that Makhubele be “immediately redeployed” as chief whip and placed on “precautionary suspension as a Member of Parliament, pending formal investigation.”
It further recommended the appointment of Des van Rooyen as chief whip to ensure “continuity, stability, and proper coordination of caucus activities”. Van Rooyen previously served as South Africa’s finance minister for a brief period in 2015. However, the MK Party top brass swiftly reversed the appointment, reinstating Makhubele and suspending Hlophe.
Scandal mars party integrity
The scandal comes at a sensitive time for the MK Party as it seeks to establish itself as a credible political force ahead of future elections. The internal report acknowledges the situation “has already caused harm to the unity of the caucus” and recommends urgent “team building exercises” to restore trust.
The report concluded that Makhubele’s conduct represents “a profound breach of trust and of the Party’s principles of unity, discipline, and accountability”.
MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said: “We receive a lot of governance reports from Parliament, but that report has not been tabled with the party because we are still due to have an officials meeting. But we have been made aware of a report of such a nature”.
Makhubela and did not respond to questions sent yesterday, and we were unable to reach Moalusi.
