Prominent Giyani businessman Howard Alex Mashaba has been slapped with a combined R25 000 fine after being convicted of intimidation and breaching a protection order in a case involving a woman who was renting a Department of Public Works property.
The 45-year-old appeared before the Giyani Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, where the court handed down sentences for two offences arising from a dispute that allegedly escalated into threats, insults and the disruption of the complainant’s home.
The property dispute
The case goes back to 4 July 2024, when Howard allegedly arrived at the complainant’s residence and told her to leave.
According to the SAPS Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit, Howard claimed that he had purchased the house and therefore had the right to occupy or control the property.
The woman refused, telling him that she was the lawful tenant.
What followed allegedly turned an already tense property dispute into a criminal matter.
The complainant alleged that Howard and his accomplices cut off the electricity supply to her home and painted the walls red.
With the dispute escalating, she went to the Giyani Magistrate’s Court the following day, on 5 July 2024, and applied for a protection order against Howard.
The order was subsequently served on him.
But the protection order did not end the confrontation.
The alleged workplace confrontation
On 2 August 2024, Howard allegedly arrived at the complainant’s workplace accompanied by an entourage.
The SAPS Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit said he threatened and insulted the woman in front of her colleagues.
The complainant reported the alleged conduct to the Giyani Magistrate’s Court.
A warrant of arrest was subsequently issued for Howard.
The matter was then referred to the SAPS Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit in Polokwane for further investigation.
Howard was arrested on 21 August 2024 and appeared before the Giyani Magistrate’s Court several times as the case made its way through the legal process.
After almost two years, the court found him guilty on both counts on 8 June 2026.
Sentencing was postponed until 22 September.
R25 000 fine – or months behind bars
The court imposed a R10 000 fine on Howard for intimidation, with the alternative being six months’ imprisonment.
He was also handed an additional 12 months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years, subject to certain conditions.
On the second count – contravening the protection order – Howard was fined a further R15 000, with nine months’ imprisonment as the alternative.
He also received another 12-month prison sentence, wholly suspended for five years, subject to conditions.
Taken together, the immediate fines amount to R25 000.
The suspended sentences mean that the additional imprisonment does not automatically take effect, provided the conditions imposed by the court are complied with.
Police welcome conviction
Limpopo Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Jan Scheepers welcomed the outcome, commending the Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit for securing the conviction and sentence.
The case places a spotlight on how disputes over property can spill into allegations of intimidation and court-order violations – particularly when one party has already obtained legal protection from the court.
For Howard, what began as a dispute over who had the right to occupy a house ultimately ended with a criminal conviction, two fines and suspended prison terms hanging over him.
