South Africa: Claims of Political Links to Paul Mashatile Are Just Gossip, Winning Lottery Bidder Says

17 October 2025
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Tania Broughton

Losing bidder Ithuba Lottery is trying to create 'an atmosphere of wrongdoing', says Sizekhaya.

Losing bidder Ithuba Lottery is trying to create 'an atmosphere of wrongdoing', says Sizekhaya.

Suggestions that Deputy President Paul Mashatile has "political connections" with lottery licence winning bidder Sizekhaya are just "gossip and conspiracy theories", the consortium says.

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And losing bidder Ithuba Lottery "is well aware that nothing in these reports establishes any breach of the Lotteries Act or the requirements of the [licence] Request for Proposals", Sizekhaya attorney Rishaban Moodley says in an affidavit.

Sizekhaya is opposing a bid by Ithuba Lottery to interdict the implementation of the licence, pending a judicial review in which it wants the decision by Minister of Trade and Industry Parks Tau to be set aside.

The interdict application, based on what Ithuba Lottery says were glaring irregularities in the adjudication process, has been set down for argument in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria from 28 to 30 October 2025.

One of the issues flagged by Ithuba was alleged connections between the Sizekhaya consortium and Mashatile, based on media reports indicating that he has an indirect interest through his sister-in-law Khumo Bogatsu, who is a co-owner of Bellamont Gambling, a shareholder in the consortium.

Media reports also claimed that...

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