The Eswatini church scheme was exposed in April 2024 through the "Swazi Secrets" investigation -- a collaboration between the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Daily Maverick, and amaBhungane, based on 890,000+ leaked records from the Eswatini Financial Intelligence Unit.
The leaked records reveal that from 2015 to 2021, more than R200 million flowed from South Africa to Eswatini into accounts controlled by Archbishop Lukhele and the All Nations church. The money moved through a complex web of accounts, including accounts linked to ANC officials.
The investigation named two key ANC-linked figures: the ANC's own Chief Financial Officer, Mahlalela, and former Chancellor House executive Ambassador Mngomezulu. The money flows suggested a systematic scheme to siphon ANC funds through the Eswatini banking system -- potentially for personal enrichment, or to fund off-the-books political activities, or both.
FNB Eswatini's own suspicious transaction report from 2019 stated that Lukhele was "possibly an accomplice in siphoning of ANC funds." This means the banking system itself flagged the scheme, yet it continued for at least two more years.
The scheme raises fundamental questions about ANC financial governance. If R200 million can be siphoned through a foreign church without the party's knowledge, the ANC's internal controls are non-existent. If the party's leadership was aware, they were complicit in money laundering. Either explanation is damning.
The investigation also highlighted how the Political Party Funding Act's limitations enable such schemes. The Act regulates donations to parties, but does not regulate what parties do with their money once received. Moving funds offshore through intermediaries is not directly addressed by the legislation.