The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has secured a provisional preservation order to freeze three properties and five vehicles linked to a corruption-addled library project in KwaZulu-Natal.

The frozen assets belong to Liyabongeka Trading Enterprise CC and its owner, Ms Thabile Jacqueline Xaba, who is accused of defrauding the provincial government under the guise of public infrastructure development.

The order, granted by the Special Tribunal, strictly prohibits Xaba and her company from selling, leasing, transferring, or tampering with the assets.

The preserved property includes two real estate properties in Pietermaritzburg, one in Ruimsig (Gauteng), and a fleet of five vehicles, ranging from luxury cars like a Land Rover Evoque to heavy machinery including a Bell Backhoe Loader.

The asset seizure stems from a 28 February 2020 contract between Liyabongeka Trading Enterprise and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (KZNDSAC).

The company was tasked with constructing a modular library in Ntunjambili, a rural area within the Maphumulo Local Municipality.

The project was designed to bring vital educational infrastructure to an underserved community.

However, the SIU’s investigation revealed that Xaba’s company was awarded the initial R3,422,700.38 contract despite failing to achieve the highest evaluation score or submitting the lowest bid.

Construction ground to a halt during the national COVID-19 lockdown, leaving the facility incomplete.

Exploiting the disruption, the contractor secured an additional R641,541.14 from the department for pandemic-related expenses and project extensions, pushing the total contract value to R4,064,151.52.

The SIU later discovered that portions of this additional funding were pocketed using fraudulent invoices for goods and services that were never delivered.

An independent technical forensic report exposed massive contractual and procurement violations, including: Unauthorized and undisclosed third-party handovers, significant deviations from the Bill of Quantities (BOQ), including dangerously reduced wall thicknesses and severe under-execution of fencing and non-compliant civil engineering works.

A sub-contracted company confirmed it only handled basic site preparation, revealing that the true market cost for the modular structure and a guard hut should have only been roughly R1.75 million—a fraction of what the department paid.

The SIU maintains that the department’s payments resulted in the unlawful enrichment of Xaba at the direct expense of the public fiscus and rural residents left without a library.

After a delay on 4 September because the Sheriff could not track down some of the respondents, a final court date has been locked in. Liyabongeka Trading Enterprise and Xaba must appear before the Special Tribunal on 7 October 2026 to argue why the asset preservation order should not be made permanent.

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