Tembisa Hospital Corruption Scandal: Late CEO’s Wife Says He Was A Scapegoat

The late Tembisa Hospital CEO, Dr Ashley Mthunzi, has been implicated in the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into a R2 billion corruption scandal at the facility.

Despite the damning interim report, his wife, Lerato Mthunzi, insists he was unfairly targeted to shield “politicians and criminals” behind the looting.

“My husband has been used as a scapegoat to protect bigger players who stole from the public purse,” Lerato said, adding that she will challenge the SIU’s findings with her legal team.

SIU Report Exposes Massive Irregularities in Tembisa Hospital Corruption

The SIU interim report, released on Monday, revealed that Mthunzi authorised questionable contracts and approved inflated purchase orders sent to the Gauteng Health Department.

Investigators reviewed over 2,200 procurement bundles from 2018 to 2024, uncovering fraudulent transactions linked to at least three syndicates that siphoned more than R2 billion meant for healthcare.

The report also suggested that some service providers may have failed to deliver essential medicines and supplies, worsening the crisis at the hospital. These irregularities were first flagged by whistleblower Babita Deokaran in 2021, before her assassination.

Lerato Mthunzi Maintains Her Husband’s Innocence

Lerato, who also serves as spokesperson for the Independent Health and Allied Workers Union (IHAWU), argued that the controversial suppliers were already contracted before her husband became CEO in 2021.

“When he was requested to act in the position from April and May 2021, those people were already suppliers. At no point did he appoint the bidders; he walked into this blindly,” she said.

She added that attempts to cut ties with the service providers would have resulted in costly legal disputes, while also stressing that the corruption web extended across Gauteng’s entire health system.

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Ashley Mthunzi was suspended in 2022 alongside Gauteng Health CFO Lerato Madyo, pending the SIU probe. He passed away in April 2024, while still under suspension and facing disciplinary action.

Lerato continues to insist that her late husband’s name was tarnished to shield higher-level politicians. “All these politicians had their hand in the cookie jar and they knew they would get away with impunity,” she said.

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