Suspended Master’s Office officials return to work

Four senior South African Master’s Office officials are back at work, nearly a year after they were suspended for their role in appointing liquidator Cloete Murray for several  companies linked to state-capture implicated Bosasa. The timing of their suspensions meant they were wrongfully drawn into a chorus of allegations of corruption and dodgy dealings unearthed by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). News24 reports that the Department of Justice has spent more than R60m on investigations, disciplinary proceedings and pay for dozens of suspended officials. Four senior officials – Deputy Masters Billy Ntetha, Mariaan Barnard, Mmantoa Shogole and Mmutle Mmodibela – quietly returned to work in May after being on suspension since April 2024. Their return has only come to light weeks later as no announcement was made that the department had dropped investigations into them. Their suspensions were reported at the time as part of a sweeping corruption clean-up at the Master’s Office, without direct clarification that they were being accused of wrongdoing on only one issue – the appointment of Murray. Murray and his son Thomas were murdered on 18 March 2023. No arrests have been made, and the motive remains unclear. The now cleared four Deputy Masters were on a panel – including another former Deputy Master Christene Rossouw – convened by then Acting Chief Master Tessie Bezuidenhout to specifically consider the urgent appointment of liquidators for Bosasa in February 2019.

Full News24 report