OUTA seeks lifetime ban for JPC’s Helen Botes over Usindiso fire and COVID-19 procurement failures

Key topics: OUTA links Botes to deadly Usindiso building fireAlleged gross negligence and unlawful Covid procurement at JPCCase aims to bar Botes from serving on boardsSign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Kerry Lanaghan.The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has filed a high-profile application in the Johannesburg High Court seeking to have former Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) CEO and director Helen Botes declared a delinquent director for life. The civil action, lodged on 29 July 2025 (case number 2025-125365) and served on Botes on 13 August, cites the JPC and the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) as interested parties. OUTA is represented by senior advocates Niël du Preez SC and Sonika Mentz, instructed by Jennings Inc.The case centres on two main allegations: Botes’s role in the August 2023 Usindiso building fire that killed at least 76 people and irregular COVID-19 procurement at the JPC during the 2020 lockdown. OUTA argues that both incidents reflect “gross abuse” of her position, gross negligence, wilful misconduct, and breach of trust, meeting the criteria for a delinquency order under section 162(5) of the Companies Act.Botes led the JPC for 16 years, overseeing a portfolio of more than 28,000 city assets worth over R9 billion. OUTA says that despite repeated warnings, she failed to address the hazardous state of the Usindiso building, which had been managed by the JPC since 2000 and never zoned for residential use. The Khampepe Commission into the tragedy found systemic by-law violations - from broken fire escapes to overcrowding and lack of potable water - and explicitly recommended action against Botes for “total disregard” of the building’s condition since at least 2019. Neither Botes nor the JPC challenged those findings.“Public officials entrusted with life-and-death responsibilities cannot be allowed to walk away from catastrophes without consequences,” said OUTA executive director Advocate Stefanie Fick at the press conference. “We owe it to the victims, their families, and all residents of South Africa to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”The second pillar of OUTA’s case involves the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) December 2021 report into JPC’s Covid-19 procurement. During the April–July 2020 lockdown, the JPC bypassed competitive tender processes, directly appointing four inexperienced contractors to provide deep cleaning and sanitising services at R18.6 million. The SIU flagged the contracts as overpriced and non-compliant, referring them for civil and criminal action. Botes did not dispute the report’s conclusions.Fick stressed that the Constitution and municipal finance laws require fair, transparent, competitive and cost-effective procurement. “The law is clear, and so is the evidence. Helen Botes’s failures cost lives, and accountability is not optional - it is mandatory,” she said.Declaring a director delinquent can effectively end their ability to serve on boards, a sanction OUTA previously achieved against former SAA chair Dudu Myeni after a three-year court battle. While similar cases can be protracted due to legal challenges, OUTA hopes this matter will proceed faster.At the briefing, OUTA said the Botes case is part of a broader strategy to hold public sector leaders accountable when government bodies fail to act through its new “delinquent director” unit. Another such case will be announced soon.“This is probably not the job of civil society, but if the City of Johannesburg won’t hold people accountable, we will,” Fick said. “Too many public officials escape justice. Our message is simple: not this time.”The complete press statement from OUTA’s Stefanie Fick can be read here.