Fans fume as medical doctor and gospel musician Dr Tumi and his wife Kgaogelo Makweya get arrested

Prominent gospel star and medical doctor, Dr Tumi and his wife have been released on bail after their arrest for allegedly defrauding the National Lotteries Board.

The couple, who were escorted by their lawyer, handed themselves in earlier on Tuesday.

Confirming the arrests in a media statement, Hawks spokesperson Capt Ndivhuwo Mulamu said Dr Tumi, real name Tumisang Victor Makweya, 39, and his wife Kgaogelo Sara Makweya, 36, were listed as committee members at a non-profit organisation when the alleged fraud took place.
She said they allegedly submitted altered grant application documents to the National Lotteries Board for approval of funds on projects in 2018.

“Further investigation revealed that the couple together with their co-accused who have since been released on R5 000 bail each, Chistopher Tshivule (46) and Thomas Ndadza (48) allegedly altered information on the documents submitted to the National Lotteries in September 2018 which resulted to the amount of over R1.5m being transferred into a private bank account,” said Mulamu.

“The couple allegedly benefited approximately R760,000 from the funds. They handed themselves in at the Johannesburg office escorted by their attorney and were subsequently charged for fraud.

“They appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court today and were granted bail of R3,000 each. The case was postponed to 07 May 2021 for docket disclosure,” she said.

The award-winning musician has been trending on social media as his fans jumped to his defence, arguing there is more to the story.

In February, the musician made headlines after being paid R500 000 by the Gauteng department of sports, arts, culture and recreation for organising a two-hour virtual concert.

Again, fans came to his defence on social media and the hashtag #HandsOffDrTumi trended as a result.

In response, the department confirmed that Dr Tumi was contracted for a variety of services in preparation for a live television concert.

It entailed a full production and performances by the country’s most renowned artists, including Benjamin Dube and Lebo Sekgobela.