Heberon: SANDF Imports 970,000 Vials of an Unregistered Cuban COVID Drug Worth R217m — 15 Used, the Rest Sent Back

R217 million (contract value; R33.4m recovered)

documented loss

In April 2020 SANDF chief Gen Solly Shoke authorised the import of 970,695 vials of Heberon, a Cuban interferon, through Waterkloof air base — without SAHPRA registration, a tender or Treasury approval, and through logistics rather than military health. About 15 doses were administered. The SIU found no proper procurement; the R217 million contract was set aside, the consignment returned to Cuba in January 2022, 25 officials referred and R33.4 million recovered. The DA's 2022 criminal charges have not been prosecuted.

The Record The Evidence What Was Lost Implicated Institutions The Paper Trail

The Record

On 8 April 2020 Gen Solly Shoke signed off on the importation of Heberon, a Cuban alpha-2b interferon, as a COVID-19 treatment for SANDF members. The consignment — 970,695 vials, later valued at R217 million to R228 million — arrived at Waterkloof air base without registration by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, without a tender and without National Treasury approval, and was procured through the logistics division rather than the military health service, whose Maj-Gen Lesley Ford objected. About fifteen doses were ever administered. The drug was returned to Cuba by 19 January 2022; R34 million had been paid.

The SIU's investigation, reported to Scopa on 28 January 2025, found no proper procurement and that the order should be cancelled; the contract was set aside, 25 officials were referred for discipline and R33.4 million recovered. The Auditor-General recorded R33 million in fruitless expenditure. The DA laid criminal charges in 2022; no prosecution has followed. The SANDF's defence was that the drug was acquired for the "protection of members" under the bilateral agreement. The record is a child of Project Thusano.

Part of a larger file · Project Thusano: R1.3bn+ Paid to Cuba for Vehicle Maintenance and Training — Entirely Irregular, Says the Auditor-General →