Couple flaunted their lavish lifestyle. Wife now out on bail.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu made headlines in 2007 when she accused her boss at SAA of harassing her sexually.
The former SAA cabin attendant who was living the high life after marrying her army boss boyfriend, was arrested on Wednesday morning, NPA spokesperson Sipho Ngwema confirmed.
“The wife of a senior military general, Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, was released on R80,000.00 bail after her appearance on charges of fraud, involving approximately R100m,” he said.
Ngwema said she was arrested on Wednesday, and was released on condition that she makes no contact with witnesses and hands in her passport to the investigating officer.
“A tender was awarded by the SANDF to Umkhombe Marine Pty Ltd to transport SANDF equipment back to SA from African countries. The contract value was approximately R24m,” Ngwema said.
“Thereafter she was awarded another contract of R103m, again to transport SANDF equipment. But the soldiers were recalled from service and this led to the cancellation of the second contract,” Ngwema said.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu then claimed R30m expenses from the SANDF, saying this was what the costs were before the cancellation.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu allegedly provided false information and documents as part of the tender process. She is also accused of falsifying documents and forging a signature in one of her submissions.
Online selfies show her husband Maj-Gen Noel Ndhlovu and herself flaunting their lavish lifestyle. Pictures of the couple on aircraft, overseas holidays, her navy-blue Maserati, a new silver Range Rover and in front of their R8.5m Sandton home were flaunted on social media.
The military police have been investigating suspected fraud and corruption in contracts awarded to Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s company, Umkhombe Marine (the legal entity belonging to Mrs Ndhlovu).
Investigators smelt a rat when they examined some of the tenders.
In one, for the transport of military equipment, rival bidders listed included companies that were later revealed to be a taxi business, a stationery supplier and a company that had closed down in 2010 — all of whom claimed to know nothing about any SANDF tender.
A fourth company said it had been invited to tender only five days before the closing date. The company was required to conduct a site visit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) before handing in its tender documents, making it impossible to meet the deadline.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu won her first army contract in 2014 when she was awarded a tender to supply tea and coffee, worth about R1.5m, to the defence force. Later that year she was awarded a R24m contract to transport military equipment from SA to countries where the SANDF has deployed soldiers on missions.
In 2016 she was awarded yet another contract, this one for R104m, to transport redundant military equipment from SA to Sudan.
That contract was cancelled over technical issues and Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu claimed R30m as a penalty fee.
In the same year, in lieu of the cancelled R104m contract, she received a subsequent transport contract for the DRC, valued at R79m. At the time her husband was on the military’s joint operations committee, which rubber-stamped all mission contracts.
Last year, Ntsondwa confirmed she had not declared that she was romantically involved with Ndhlovu when she was awarded the R104m contract .
The couple could not be reached for comment.
The matter was remanded to December 9, 2020, for the prosecutor to supply the accused with documents.
