Byline: Refeloe Letsoisa
09 December 2025
Wilhemina Jacoba (75) and Phakamani Hlongwane (36) handed themselves in to the Hawks’ Secunda-based Serious Organised Crime Investigation after they were linked to Pieter Grobler (31) and his family members Mark Lombard (29) and Sonnet Lombard (46), who were arrested for distributing rotten and expired food for human consumption.
Jacoba and Hlogwane made their first appearance before Secunda Magistrate’s Court today, Monday, 08 December 2025. They were both granted R2 500 bail and expected to appear before the same court on 06 February 2026.
The Hawks responded to a tip-off about illicit activities on a farm in Charl Cilliers outside Secunda.
During Grobler’s arrest, several items, including vehicles and cool rooms, were seized.
Rotten and expired foodstuff that was not fit for human consumption was disposed of.
The five accused are charged with contravention of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics, and Disinfectants Act, corruption, fraud, and money laundering.
The Mpumalanga Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Major General Nico Gerber, said the investigation will proceed until all those behind these inhumane activities are brought to book.
