The Pretoria home of Oscar-winning actor Presley Chweneyagae has been frozen by the Special Tribunal following revelations that its purchase was linked to the misuse of lottery grant funds. The property was allegedly acquired using a portion of a R15-million grant allocated by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) to the Presley Chweneyagae Foundation, via the Southern African Youth Movement (SAYM). This substantial grant was specifically designated to finance an anti-drug themed musical titled "Taking Back the Future," intended for a tour across three provinces. However, the musical saw a significantly limited run, performing for only five nights at a modest venue in the Free State, far short of its ambitious planned tour.

This case is part of a larger pattern of alleged corruption involving lottery grant funding, with SAYM at its core. The organization reportedly received over R67.5-million for various lottery-funded projects, including the construction of an old-age home and a drug rehabilitation centre. Troublingly, neither of these promised facilities is currently operational. Both SAYM and its executive director, Alfred Sigudla, have become central figures in an ongoing Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into widespread corruption within the NLC's grant distribution system.

The preservation order, issued by Judge Margaret Victor on December 18, specifically targets Chweneyagae's wife, Charlaine, who is the executor of his estate, alongside several other individuals and entities implicated in the scheme. This order legally prohibits any sale, transfer, lease, encumbrance, or disposal of the Pretoria home. This restriction will remain in effect pending the finalisation of civil proceedings that the SIU is mandated to institute within 60 court days. Chweneyagae, renowned for his role in "Tsotsi," passed away in May at the age of 40 due to respiratory problems.

The alleged misuse of lottery funds extends beyond Chweneyagae's case, with his "Tsotsi" co-star, Terry Pheto, also implicated in a similar scandal. Pheto reportedly used a "dodgy" lottery grant to purchase a house in Bryanston, which was subsequently frozen by the tribunal and later sold for R3.9-million. An SIU graphic presented to Parliament in 2024 vividly illustrated the flow of funds from Chweneyagae's musical project to some of the very individuals and entities now named in the latest order. At that time, the SIU informed Members of Parliament that their investigation had unearthed evidence of a "criminal syndicate" operating within the NLC itself, highlighting the systemic nature of the corruption.

The individuals and entities explicitly named in the Special Tribunal's preservation order include Domestic Baboon (Pty) Ltd, a company where Chweneyagae was the sole director and which allegedly purchased the Pretoria property for R889,000. Also named is Alfred Sigudla, whose own home was previously frozen by the tribunal. Former NLC Chief Operating Officer Phillemon Letwaba, who resigned amidst controversy in 2022, is part of the order, along with Ironbridge Travel and Events, a company solely directed by Letwaba's wife, Rebotile Malomane. Further implicated are Karabo Sithole, Letwaba's cousin, known for involvement in other questionable lottery projects like a stadium in Limpopo, and Meshack Makhubela, the sole director of VNMM Consulting Engineers and son-in-law of the former scandal-ridden NLC chairperson, Alfred Nevhutanda.