Correctional Services National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale has allegedly been receiving death threats.
On Tuesday, 13 October, Thobakgale revealed that he had received a WhatsApp message declaring the day his funeral.
He also said officials facing suspension over a R1.6-billion coal tender had been threatened and extorted. The alleged extortion involved documents taken from his desk.
The chilling message was among a series of threats Thobakgale disclosed at the end of a lengthy briefing to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, where he faced questions over the department’s disastrous audit outcome and the coal tender scandal.
“The people that are mounting this campaign in the media have been sending me WhatsApps. And one of those WhatsApps declares today to be my funeral,” he told MPs.
Thobakgale said he did not believe the message was directly linked to Tuesday’s parliamentary proceedings, suggesting it related to other matters surrounding the controversy.
“It was a separate message. So I don’t take it that that message is talking to the meeting of the portfolio committee. I take it it’s talking to other issues,” he said.
He said a newspaper article published on Sunday had been forwarded to him on WhatsApp, followed by a message that appeared to carry a threatening warning.
“When that article was sent to me on WhatsApp, it was followed by a message that says, ‘I don’t bluff’,” Thobakgale said.
The commissioner also alleged that officials who were suspended or being considered for suspension over the coal tender had been targeted using documents taken from his own desk.
He said the documents, which he had been working on, were allegedly used to extort the officials as he considered disciplinary action over the tender.
“The officials that are suspended, some of them, including those that are not suspended but contemplated for suspension, were sent documents that I was working on, and documents that were in the department. And those documents were used to extort them,” he said.
“A case with the DPCI is opened, a case of extortion,” he explained.
Thobakgale said the officials had forwarded the WhatsApp messages to him.
He also disclosed receiving messages ridiculing his efforts to address the tender scandal, suggesting that those behind the campaign believed his actions were ineffective.
“The actions that you are taking, we can see that they are nothing,” one message said, according to Thobakgale.
The revelations added a disturbing dimension to a scandal already engulfing the department, where allegations of document manipulation have triggered an audit crisis, suspensions and a criminal investigation.
Correctional Services received a disclaimer audit opinion for the 2025/26 financial year. The Auditor-General said documents submitted in connection with the R1.6-billion coal tender showed signs of being falsified or altered.
Four officials, including the chief financial officer, were suspended in September over the tender. A separate fraud case was opened with the Hawks under CAS 799/7/2026.
Thobakgale told MPs the suspended officials remained on full pay.
Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald said the threats against the commissioner were not new and warned that they could intensify.
“Let me make it clear that this is not the first time he has received threats. There have been previous incidents, and the threats are likely to increase,” Groenewald said.
He also sought to distinguish his public support for Thobakgale from any attempt to shield the commissioner from accountability over his work.
“When I say something about the national commissioner, it does not mean I am trying to protect him in relation to his work. He knows that. We are honest with each other,” he said.
Groenewald said the department had “too many bad apples” among its officials, while insisting that most employees were committed to their work.
“The vast majority of our officials are honest, hardworking and dedicated,” he said.
Another MP expressed concern for Thobakgale’s safety after hearing his account.
“I hope that you are taking safety precautions. None of us have any intention of attending a funeral,” said the MP.
She later reiterated her concern.
“National Commissioner, I hope you’re safe. The briefing you gave was concerning,” she said.
Groenewald also told the committee that Thobakgale had appeared before the Madlanga Commission, where the commissioner testified in September.
The alleged threats and extortion now sit alongside questions about who handled the coal-tender documents, how they reached the officials concerned and whether anyone used confidential departmental information to intimidate those facing possible disciplinary action.
The department has confirmed that an extortion case has been opened with the DPCI, but the allegations remain to be tested through the investigation.
