Following the historic ruling of Judge Neil Tuchten in September 2025, which found that conservationist Fred Daniel had been the victim of a violent campaign - led by former deputy president David Mabuza - to bury his revelations of State Capture in Mpumalanga, the South African government doubled down on its strategy of deferment and denial. But now, with its refusal to pay cost orders and its non-compliance with the rules of appeal, the government may be running out of road.

Third time unlucky

It was the beginning of the last week in May 2026, just after 8am, when Ntobeko Zwane arrived at the offices of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) for the third and final time.

His first official visit as deputy sheriff of the Mbombela district had taken place on 22 April, less than five weeks before. Back then, when he arrived to remove the motor vehicles that had been marked and attached by a colleague, they were nowhere to be found.

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The same thing happened on 11 May, the date of Zwane's second visit. "The vehicles," he testified, "could not be located on the property and were also neither produced nor surrendered by the defendant."

And so now, on 25 May, Zwane was giving it another go. But this time, although the vehicles were on the premises, a pair of staffers from the MTPA's legal department -- identified in the affidavit as "Mr Lubanga" and "Ms Hlapathi" -- would not allow the tow-trucks to haul them away.

"Mr Lubanga demanded to see the court order that permitted the sheriff to remove the vehicles," Zwane attested. "No court order was required as the goods had been attached...