CHIEF JUSTICE MAPHALALA EXPOSED IN MILLION-RAND PAYBACK SCANDAL

A highly secretive communication between SwaziPharm Director Kareem Ashraff and a senior Government official has exposed how one of Eswatini’s most powerful businessmen allegedly plotted to launder money to rescue Chief Justice (CJ) Bheki Maphalala from a growing corruption scandal.

Documents from the Ministry of Finance Treasury Department, now in possession of this publication, confirm that the Chief Justice was ordered to pay back more than R1million in housing allowances he allegedly defrauded from the State. After the story was exposed by this newspaper, Maphalala was pressured to make repayments. However, instead of paying the full amount, he committed to pay only R200,000, broken down into installments of just R3,268.88.

The records show that the powerful Chief Justice was shielded from repaying the full balance of about R900,000. According to confidential communications reviewed by this publication, SwaziPharm Director Kareem Ashraff told a senior government official that he was preparing to cover the balance on behalf of Maphalala. His alleged motive was to protect the CJ from political and public pressure, which had intensified after several corruption stories linked to his name.

In the leaked communication, Ashraff admitted that “those who want to remove the Chief Justice from power were using the Swaziland News story and other stories to force him to resign or pay back the balance.” His words strongly suggest that the businessman was motivated not only by personal loyalty but by a desire to protect one of the monarchy’s key judicial figures from public disgrace.

When contacted, Kareem Ashraff declined to comment. Repeated efforts to reach Chief Justice Maphalala for clarification were unsuccessful at the time of compiling this report. The silence from both men, however, raises even more suspicion about the alleged money laundering plot.

The potential ethical violations in this case are glaring. Prominent lawyer and human rights defender Sibusiso Nhlabatsi, responding to questions from this publication, pointed out that the Chief Justice accepting money from a third party is a direct breach of judicial ethics. “The Chief Justice or any Judge is ethically not allowed to accept money from third parties, except regulated financial institutions,” said Nhlabatsi. He explained that such financial entanglements compromise judicial independence and create conflicts of interest that undermine public trust in the justice system.

The lawyer added: “What will happen if Ashraff could be arrested and then Chief Justice be expected to preside over that matter? It seems the CJ is defending one scandal after another instead of administering justice in the country, and therefore, it would be best for him to just take a leave of absence until such allegations are cleared.”

This scandal comes at a time when the judiciary in Eswatini is already under heavy scrutiny for its close ties to the monarchy and failure to deliver impartial justice. Maphalala, who as Chief Justice is supposed to embody integrity and fairness, has instead been repeatedly linked to corruption and abuse of office. The alleged laundering attempt by Ashraff only deepens the perception that Eswatini’s justice system has been captured by wealthy businessmen and political elites.

For ordinary emaSwati, the scandal is another painful reminder of how corruption flourishes at the highest levels of government while the people continue to suffer under poverty and repression. When the very individual entrusted with upholding the rule of law becomes the face of corruption, the entire judiciary loses credibility.

The Chief Justice’s refusal to repay the full R1million, and the attempt by Ashraff to cover it up, is not just an issue of ethics but of justice itself. If judges and businessmen collude to bury scandals, then ordinary citizens cannot expect fairness in the courts.

Unless urgent reforms are introduced, the judiciary risks becoming nothing more than a shield for corrupt elites, while justice for the people remains an illusion.