On 27 June 2023, according to the State, R10,500 was transferred from an attorney's bank account to an official whose job was to help supervise the estates of people who had died.

That official, a 53-year-old estate controller at the Office of the Master of the High Court in Polokwane, was arrested at his office on Tuesday, 10 November. He is the fifth person charged in the alleged looting of deceased estates linked to suspended attorney Charlotte Tibana and her husband, Tshwane Metro Police officer Peter "Gagash" Nonyane.

The Hawks allege he abused his position by referring families who were dealing with deceased estates to Tibana's legal practice. A prosecutor told the Polokwane Magistrate's Court that the R10,500 was paid in exchange for those referrals, local news site TownPress reported. He appeared in court alongside Tibana the same day.

Until this week the case was about an attorney accused of stealing from grieving families. It is now also about the state office the law created to protect them.

The case so far

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) is investigating the alleged misappropriation of about R11 million from 15 deceased estates. Tibana, 33, and Nonyane, 36, a social media personality, were arrested in August. They face 123 counts, including fraud, theft and money laundering. The number of charges has grown as more families have laid complaints.

The State alleges that Tibana, appointed as executor or adviser in the estates, diverted money owed to heirs into private accounts.

The couple were refused bail by the Polokwane Magistrate's Court in September. The court found that releasing them could put State witnesses at risk. The Limpopo High Court dismissed their appeal on 22 October. Tibana's sister, Rirhandzu Tibana, and businessman Jabulani Maluleke, who are also accused, were each granted R60,000 bail in October.

During the bail hearings the investigating officer put further allegations to the court. He alleged that Tibana contacted a senior police officer to try to have the investigation closed, that she contacted the families of State witnesses from her cell, and that the couple tried to buy a luxury vehicle worth R1.7 million by posing as beneficiaries of one of the estates. These are the State's allegations. They have not been tested at trial, and all five accused are presumed innocent.

The families

Families named in court include the Masha, Mathabatha, Maswanganyi, Moetjie and Kobe families. The Maswanganyi royal family of Giyani has said publicly that it lost nearly R3 million from the estate of the late chief Hlengani Maswanganyi. One charge relates to about R400,000 from the estate of a widow's late husband.

For families like these, winding up an estate is often the only way to get a house transferred, an account released or a child's inheritance protected. They trust the executor and the Master's Office to see it through. When either fails, many families do not find out for months, if they find out at all.

The system meant to stop this

The Master of the High Court appoints executors, checks their accounts and holds the Guardian's Fund, which keeps inheritances for minors and other heirs who cannot manage their own money until they can. Estate controllers do much of that checking. If the person checking is also sending families to one law firm, there is no independent safeguard left.

This would not be the first time the Master's offices have failed. In 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate fraud, corruption and maladministration in Master's offices nationally. In 2020 the offices were briefly closed for that probe. In an earlier case, a deputy master in Mbombela was arrested and accused of stealing R1.7 million from people seeking help with deceased estates, the Mail & Guardian reported.

The problem has not gone away. The Guardian's Fund annual report for the year to 31 March 2026 records that the total amount linked to fraud and beneficiary overpayments rose to R40.4 million, from R26.1 million a year earlier. The Auditor-General highlighted the figure in its audit report.

What families can do

People who lose money that was held in trust by an attorney, including an attorney acting as executor of a deceased estate, may claim from the Legal Practitioners' Fidelity Fund under section 55 of the Legal Practice Act, up to a limit set by the minister. Complaints about attorneys go to the Legal Practice Council. Families who suspect an estate has been mishandled can also report it to the Master's Office and the police.

The open questions

Hawks spokesperson Colonel Avele Fumba said investigators are examining the circumstances of the alleged referrals. Limpopo Hawks head Major General Gopz Govender has said the unit will follow the money regardless of who is involved. That raises questions only the Master's Office and the Department of Justice can answer. How many families did this controller refer, and to whom? Which of his files have been reviewed since 2023? And did anyone at the Master's Office notice that the same attorney kept being appointed?

The money in these estates belonged to people who had died. It was meant for the people they left behind.

The Insight Factor has not yet obtained responses from the accused, their lawyers, or the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Their comments will be added when received.