Tembisa Hospital: SIU uncovers R600m allegedly siphoned by Govindraju syndicate

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has made an arrest in connection with an alleged procurement syndicate that allegedly siphoned approximately R600 million from Tembisa Hospital. Stefan Govindraju, the alleged mastermind behind the syndicate, appeared in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Monday, facing 70 charges including fraud, theft, money laundering and corruption-related offences.

The SIU launched its investigation into procurement irregularities and corruption at the hospital in April 2025 and found that the Govindraju Syndicate, previously known as Syndicate X, had allegedly siphoned off "approximately R600 million from the hospital". The investigation identified 75 companies linked to Govindraju that traded with the hospital, with 1,237 contracts awarded through a purported three-quotation procurement process between 2020 and 2023.

Among the companies linked to Govindraju are Diolinx (Pty) Ltd and Fuligenix (Pty) Ltd. The SIU traced funds allegedly used to acquire former Tembisa Hospital supply chain clerk Duduzile Nkosazana Nobungwana's property in Midstream to payments made by companies within the network, including entities linked to Govindraju's syndicate. Nobungwana's pension benefits, worth approximately R1.8 million, have also been preserved by the SIU.

Tembisa Hospital operational nursing manager Zacharia Tshisele has also been linked to the alleged corruption, having paid R13,530,904.27 to the SIU as part of his alleged ill-gotten gains. The SIU remains committed to rooting out corruption across all government departments, municipalities and public entities.