Motlatsi Nelson Khalane (31) made his first appearance before the Phuthaditjhaba Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 14 October 2025 where he was granted bail of R5 000 on charges of fraud.
Khalane’s court appearance follows his arrest by the Bethlehem-based Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation on 13 October 2025.
It is alleged that Khalane, through his company, submitted an application to the University of the Free State (UFS), QwaQwa Campus, to be considered for the provision of student accommodation.
In his application, he claimed to have 215 rooms available to accommodate students. The application was approved, and funds were subsequently paid into his company’s business account between January 2023 and December 2024.
During the verification process, the university discovered that the two stands provided in the application stood empty with no rooms built. As a result, UFS suffered a financial loss of more than R1.5 million.
Khalane, 31, was only caught when UFS allegedly decided to do a verification process only to find two empty stands instead of the 215 rooms they had poured R1.5m into for two years.
Spokesperson of the Hawks in Free State W/O Fikiswa Matoti said Spokesperson of the Hawks in Free State W/O Fikiswa Matoti said in his application, he claimed to have 215 rooms available to accommodate students. “The application was approved, and funds were subsequently paid into his company’s business account between January 2023 and December 2024.”
Khalane is expected to appear before the Bethlehem Commercial Crimes Court on 11 December 2025.
