On Thursday at 4:11 AM, stop-managers of the Eastern Cape Department of Education were urgently instructed to make a payment of R18.5 million to a single company within four days. Although this payment was processed as an urgent matter, the publication IOL found out that more than half of this amount was less than thirty days old and not yet overdue.
The company that received the funds is Khumzi Investments, whose sole director, Saki Sakhumzi Magel, owns publications such as Daily Dispatch, The Herald, and other newspapers previously owned by Arena Holdings in the province. IOL reviewed an email sent on June 26, 2025, to department official Amos Tamsanke Fetse and 99 other top managers.
The email stated: 'Dear senior management members, please see the attached document according to the department head's instruction (sic), all outstanding payments to Khumzi must be completed.' The department head is Sharon Maasdorp. Office managers were instructed to review the attachment and discuss it with chief directors in their branches. The named official was required to provide a report to Maasdorp by Monday, June 30, 2025, after four days.
The sender also noted that the same attachment was placed in an internal WhatsApp working group for easy reference. IOL examined the attachment itself, which is a table titled 'Khumzi Recon'. It reconciled the department's accounts with Khumzi across 167 invoices dated between October 21, 2019, and June 6, 2025, covering 48 directorates and categories. The total amount of the invoices was R25,635,112.06, of which R7,149,957.37 was paid, leaving a balance of R18,485,154.69.
According to the aging schedule in the table itself, only a small portion of this amount was actually overdue. R2,759,772.82 was marked as current, meaning it was not yet due for payment. Another R8,009,074.01 was within 30 days, R1,546,594.94 was within 60 days, and R1,269,706.18 was within 90 days. Only R4,900,006.74, approximately a quarter of the total amount, was older than 120 days.
The source who provided the documents declined to discuss Magel over the phone and requested to meet with IOL in person, deeming it safer. This meeting took place in Gugongqo, formerly known as East London. The source stated: 'He has such great influence in the department that even the department head, Sharon Maasdorp, is just one phone call away when he needs to resolve payment issues for his company.' He added: 'He is a big man and makes decisions. No one interferes with him when he wants to speak to the department head.'
The source wished to remain anonymous, fearing job loss. Khumzi invoiced almost all departments of the department, including assessments and exams, youth and special programs, e-learning, and infrastructure asset management. Invoices were also issued for the national school feeding program and internal audits. Many descriptions referred to the number of officials or the number of 'passengers', which in the travel sector means passengers; most of what Khumzi invoiced related to accommodation and travel.
The largest expenditure volume is attributed to the office of the Minister of Executive Council (MEC) amounting to R3,639,440.24, of which R3,522,416.96 remained unpaid. The department head's office accounts for an additional R546,896.13.
Invoice issuance increased eightfold in 2025
Throughout 2024, Khumzi issued 29 invoices to the department totaling R2,542,492.02. However, in the first five months and six days of 2025, the company issued 114 invoices totaling R20,904,237.84. This is eight times more money in less than half the time.
Twelve invoices, amounting to R1,632,314.10, have no order number whatsoever. Six of these are dated 2019 and remain unpaid as of the reconciliation. Another eleven invoices predating 2022, totaling R1,577,430.60, were also unpaid; the oldest of these is dated October 21, 2019.
This is not the first instance where Khumzi's department payments have drawn attention. In May 2022, the Sunday Times reported that the company received R39.8 million from the department in April 2021. This sum consisted of R22.1 million for teacher accommodation involved in extracurricular activities and R17.7 million for training courses. Magel refused to answer the newspaper's questions, directing them to his lawyer, who stated that the requested information was covered by confidentiality agreements that his client did not wish to breach.
Maasdorp herself is also under investigation. In December 2025, Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane instructed the Public Service Commission to consider several allegations raised by the Minister of Education Fundile Gade. The investigation, led by Commissioner Wusumuzi Mavuso, took place in Gugongqo in April. Allegations included Maasdorp's attempt to influence a relative's assessment results, improper suspension and demotion of senior officials, interference in procurement processes, and authorizing the transfer of R80 million intended for the purchase of a school that was never acquired.
Another allegation is that she suspended the director who refused to sign a procurement contract awarding work to a service provider who allegedly bought her a house or facilitated payments on the house where she resides. IOL understands that the mentioned service provider is connected to Magel. The suspended Director of Communications, Wuseka Mboksela, was supposed to testify in the investigation regarding the close relationship between the department head and a certain departmental service provider. She did not name the provider.
When asked for comment, Mboksela told IOL that she 'does not wish to say anything'. The commission's report was sent to Mabuyane, but its findings were not made public.
From government contractor to newspaper owner
It appears Magel's influence extends beyond the department's accounting books. When the online station The Voice Lounge, associated with him, was created last August, it placed a series of advertisements in the Daily Dispatch. The advertising material appeared in both newspapers, promoting free training under the provincial student curriculum. At that time, both newspapers still belonged to Arena Holdings.
Speaking at a Voice Lounge event late last year, broadcast on YouTube, Bongani Sikoko, then Senior Manager of Arena, stated that the relationship began earlier. 'We are truly proud of The Voice Lounge as part of Arena Holdings. They believe in what we believe in,' said Sikoko. 'At Arena Holdings, we believe in partnership. We believe ecosystems are built through partnership. We are proud to have been among the first partners of The Voice Lounge. We knew this platform when it was just an idea, before the presenters, before the production team, before the studios and microphones.'
Nine months later, Arena transferred its entire staff in the Eastern Cape to Ubuntu Media Holdings, and Sikoko became its CEO. Data obtained by IOL from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission showed that Ubuntu Media Holdings, registration number 2026/154195/07, was registered on February 20, 2026, as a shell company named K2026154195. Its name was changed to Ubuntu Media Holdings on April 30, 2026, the same day Arena employees were informed of the deal, and one day before it came into effect. Its registered and postal address is 16 Empire Road, Parktown, Johannesburg, which is the headquarters of Arena Holdings itself. The company has three directors. The first, appointed on the day of registration, is Letlogonol Aloysius Molebeledi, better known as Pulé Molebeledi, CEO of the Arena Holdings group. His registered home address is 16 Empire Road. Magel was appointed on May 5, 2026, four days after the rights had already transferred. The third director, Johannes Hermanus Peyper, was appointed on the same day. He represents the firm Peyper Attorneys in Bloemfontein, a firm that represents Magel's interests.
From February 20 to May 5, 2026, throughout the period of incorporation and effectiveness of the deal, Ubuntu Media Holdings had one director, and he was the CEO of the newspaper-owning company. In his communication to employees on April 30, Molebeledi referred to the counterparty only as a 'private investment group from the Eastern Cape'. He stated: 'Both partners committed to maintaining editorial independence and the identity of each publication, upholding the standards and authority that define their role in our media ecosystem.' He did not name the company or the person. The deal covered Daily Dispatch, The Herald, The Rep, Talk of the Town, and Go! & Express, and came into effect on May 1, 2026. Daily Dispatch and The Voice Lounge are expected to share premises in Magel's building in Vincent, Gugongqo City, starting this month. Sikoko has since retired.
Newspaper staff did not receive their July salaries on time. The SA National Editors' Forum reported last week that the money had not been paid, and staff published an anonymous open letter stating that many had not received payment, that silence had replaced communication, and that they feared persecution. Salaries were paid late on Thursday evening and early Friday morning after IOL published its first acquisition report.
Magel's lawyer threatens lawsuit
IOL sent detailed questions to Magel through his lawyer last Thursday, setting a deadline for Saturday at 10:30 PM. At 8:26 PM that same Saturday evening, Hector Schoman of Peyper Attorneys confirmed that the firm represented Magel and stated that IOL's correspondence contained numerous serious allegations based on what appeared to be confidential commercial, corporate, employment, and procurement information. He stated that the deadline was unreasonable and did not give his client sufficient opportunity to review the material.
Schoman demanded that IOL provide the documentation on which the questions were based and requested written confirmation that neither the reporter nor IOL would publish any further articles on these matters until his client reviewed them. 'If any publication contains inaccurate, false, misleading, or defamatory statements, or relies on confidential information obtained or disclosed illegally, we have instructions to initiate urgent legal proceedings without further notice to you,' he stated.
IOL editor Lance Witten responded on Monday morning: 'IOL is not obliged to provide you with our source material or disclose how the information was obtained.' He added: 'Your client was given more than a reasonable amount of time, exceeding 72 hours, to respond to our journalist's requests, which is far more than prescribed by the Press Code.' Witten gave Magel until 6:00 PM on Monday to respond. Schoman then repeated his Saturday letter, stating that his client would initiate urgent legal proceedings without further notice if necessary and demand a punitive judgment. No response was given to any questions.
These questions included information on what Khumzi supplied to the Department of Education, under which contract it was appointed, what explained the increase in invoicing, how the invoices were authorized without an order number, what Magel's relationship with Maasdorp was, and what his stake in Ubuntu Media Holdings was. The questions were sent to Gade's representative, Velani Mbizas-Gole, five days ago. No response was received by the time of publication.
Corporate records showed that Magel registered or joined more than 20 organizations over 22 years, starting with Sakizandi Trading (Pty) Ltd, which he fully owned in June 2004. Fourteen of these had the status of final annual return deregistration.
