Rubben Mohlaloga, a former MP, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for defrauding R6 million

In order to begin serving his 20-year prison sentence, former MP Rubben Mohlaloga, who also served as the chair of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and Land Affairs, has been ordered to report to the Pretoria Specialized Commercial Crimes Court.

He lost his fight at the Supreme Court of Appeal after his appeal against his conviction and sentence was denied, and the sentence was handed down on February 14, 2019.

Mohlaloga will have to serve his 20-year jail sentence for his role in defrauding the Agri-Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Fund (AgriBBBEE), which was established to assist previously disadvantaged farmers. 

Mohlaloga, a member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture at the time, colluded with others to secure a R6-million grant under false pretences. The AgriBBBEE was approved by Parliament to assist previously disadvantaged farmers financially. Its objective was to facilitate broad-based black economic empowerment in the agricultural sector.

The fund was managed and administered by the Land Bank on behalf of the National Department of Agriculture. It received R100 million from the National Treasury.

In February 2008, R6 million was transferred from the fund to the trust account of a law firm, and this payment was disbursed largely to Mohlaloga. Within three months, the grant money was depleted, and not a cent had been spent for the purpose for which it had been originally designated by the Land Bank.

He was subsequently found guilty on one count of fraud and one count of money laundering, resulting in his sentencing on February 14, 2019. The court imposed 15 years’ imprisonment on each count, with 10 years of the money laundering sentence ordered to run concurrently, resulting in an effective 20-year term.

Following the SCA’s order on August 8, 2025, directing that he commences his sentence, Mohlaloga filed an urgent application for bail extension, pending an intended application for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court.

The bail extension application was heard mid-September 2025 in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria and on October 13, 2025, the court refused the application for bail, ordering that Mohlaloga surrender himself for incarceration.

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