Corruption has a direct impact on the lives of people in South Africa. The link between corruption and lived experience is nowhere more obvious than the erosion of passenger train services in South Africa. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA) service has declined so dramatically over the last decade, the majority of working-class South Africans who once relied on the affordable service have had to turn towards more expensive modes of public transport.
In May 2025, Open Secrets filed a court application at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, seeking judicial review of the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for their prolonged inaction in the PRASA corruption investigation. The legal action aims to have the court declare unlawful the extended delays by the Hawks and NPA in concluding their investigations into corruption at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), as well as the NPA’s failure to decide on prosecuting those implicated in the looting.
In March 2024, Open Secrets published a 3-part series in GroundUp exposing those who cashed in on corruption at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). Through dodgy dealings with a front company called Swifambo Rail Leasing, Auswell Mashaba and well-connected business man Makhensa Mabunda helped European company Vossloh swindle R1.8-billion in profit from PRASA, while pocketing a further R300-million for themselves and their associates — all of which was enabled by auditors, lawyers, and banks neglecting their professional duties.
Open Secrets also covered Prasa’s corruption as part of our Unaccountable series published on Daily Maverick. The series consists of profiles of large corporations and private individuals who are implicated in economic crime but have never been held to account – or at best escaped substantive justice.
Who are the board members and executives at Prasa who enabled and participated in the looting of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa)? This week we turn to Sfiso Buthelezi, a former deputy minister of Finance and current member of parliament whose six years as Prasa’s first board chairperson saw the parastatal procurement process systematically undermined and its coffers drained.
Unaccountable 00029 | Roy Moodley- Mr Prasa? By Lucas Nowicki Who are the shady corporate bosses who derailed Prasa? In this instalment of Unaccountable, we shine a light on Roy Moodley, a politically connected businessman whom employees at the state-owned railway company would call ‘Mr Prasa’, according to testimony at the Zondo Commission. For more…
Unaccountable 00026: Vossloh- The German railway giant that derailed Prasa By Lucas Nowicki In installment 00024 of Unaccountable we focused on middleman Auswell Mashaba and his shelf company Swifambo Rail Leasing, which was used as a front by Vossloh España to secure a lucrative contract with Prasa that resulted in the SOE spending billions on…
Unaccountable 00024: Auswell ‘tall trains’ Mashaba: The middleman who derailed Prasa By Lucas Nowicki Who are the shady middlemen who derailed Prasa? We turn our attention to Auswell ‘tall trains’ Mashaba, whose business Swifambo Rail Leasing is one of the locomotives of corruption at Prasa. In last week’s instalment of Unaccountable, we discussed the politicians, board members…
Unaccountable 00023: How Prasa was looted and left for scrap By Lucas Nowicki The link between corruption and lived experience is nowhere more obvious than the erosion of passenger train services in South Africa. Prasa’s service has declined so dramatically over the past decade that the majority of working-class South Africans who once relied on…
