The Bekendvlei Farm scandal crystallises everything wrong with South Africa's land reform programme: a minister using public funds to reward a political ally with a R97 million farm.

**The Allocation**

Minister Gugile Nkwinti — who served as Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform from 2009 to 2018 — influenced his department to purchase Bekendvlei Farm in Limpopo for R97 million. He then allocated the farm to two individuals:

- **Errol Velile Present**: A close associate and ANC Luthuli House employee of more than 10 years. Present had no farming experience, no ancestral claim to the land, and — as would later emerge — was involved in violent crime. - **Moses Boshomane**: A businessman, also with no farming background or land claim.

Neither beneficiary met the criteria for land reform allocation. The farm was not allocated to a community with historical claims or to emerging farmers. It went to political connections.

**The Forensic Investigation**

A Deloitte forensic report examined the allocation and recommended that Nkwinti be "charged with possible corruption" for abusing his position. The R2 million bribe allegation was not substantiated by evidence, but the abuse of office was clear.

**The Public Protector Finding**

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane found that Nkwinti had violated the Executive Ethics Code and the Constitution. This is a formal finding by a Chapter 9 institution.

**The Beneficiary's Criminal Career**

In a detail that underscores the absurdity of the allocation, Errol Velile Present was subsequently arrested for cash-in-transit heists — armed robbery targeting armoured vehicles carrying cash. This was the man entrusted with a R97 million public asset intended for land reform.

**Zero Accountability**

Despite the Deloitte forensic recommendation, the Public Protector finding, and the obvious abuse of office: - No criminal charges were brought against Nkwinti - He testified at the Zondo Commission but faced no consequences - In 2020, he was appointed to Minister Lindiwe Sisulu's Advisory Committee - The farm allocation was not reversed