This story reveals one big mess that does not just involve minister Tolashe but her family.
How she kept digging herself deeper into this scandal with every move is unbelievable.
It is a study in the extent of disconnection between members of the political elite and the society they preside over.
Just consider the “explanation” chosen by Tolashe.
Even if the “explanation” was true, it would have been an act of criminality to hide assets from a public entity and register them under the names of private persons for that very purpose.
For her not to recognise this is shocking. It could be that she was trying to avoid a sin she considered even more glaring from a political standpoint.
That sin is the possibility that she had just stolen from her own political organisation, the one she presides over.
Considering Tolashe and many political elites who have risen in the warped political system of SA, it is not surprising she would place the party ahead of the law.
If caught, to her it is better that she is caught in the criminal act of hiding assets than of stealing from her party.
With the former, she can marshal her political forces to shield and protect her, a privilege she has seen enjoyed by many political heavyweights in SA.
But with the latter, she is facing the proverbial cold outside the ANC.
The tragedy is that our society is a distant consideration in the calculations of minister Tolashe and all those who want to shield and protect her.
There is no thought whatsoever about what it means for a sitting minister to be involved in such dishonesty and possible criminal conduct.
The betrayal of public trust by a sitting minister is given so little weight that it is not recognised that it represents loss of public trust for the entire political class.
And where there is no public trust in the political class, we are courting disaster and frankly waiting for the collapse of the entire political system.
The laissez-faire approach of President Cyril Ramaphosa to leadership has allowed the scandal to roll out without much from him.
As expected, he is waiting for a full report on the matter. And while he waits, another scandal has emerged.
The ministry of social development has launched a scathing attack on former departmental spokesperson Lumka Oliphant, accusing her of orchestrating a “deliberate and sustained campaign” to mislead the public and undermine minister Sisisi Tolashe.
In a combative statement issued on Thursday, the ministry alleged that Oliphant’s conduct was aimed at damaging the minister’s reputation following her dismissal.
However, Oliphant has hit back strongly, levelling a series of explosive counter-claims against Tolashe.
The escalating war of words comes just a day after the department urged media restraint amid growing investigative reports into alleged misconduct within its top leadership.
In a voice note heard by TimesLIVE, Oliphant accused the minister of deflecting accountability.
“I have seen the statement that has been put out by the minister, putting me at the center of her troubles. It is a pity that she chooses to be the one who diverts attention on the multiple things that she needs to account to South Africans for,” she said.
Oliphant went on to deny wrongdoing while accusing Tolashe of a range of alleged irregularities.
“I did not appoint an unqualified person in my office. I did not defy cabinet and the president by giving the DG five years against the one year they were given. I did not shield my adviser, who equally doesn’t qualify for the position. I did not lie to parliament. She did,” she said.
“I did not advertise the post of the DG without the president’s approval. I did not steal cars from the ANC Women’s League or the ANC. I did not do any of those things,” she said.
She also said that the issues she raised were reflected in public records.
“These are public documents that people can go there and find those documents. These things were tabled in parliament. I’m even sure that by now you can directly go and ask the auditor general … I should be arrested like she should be arrested as we’re talking now,” she said.
Oliphant further called on Tolashe to step down.
“Maybe, just maybe, she can do us a favor and just move from the department because South Africans are suffering since she went into that position. Nothing is happening in that department,” she said.
She also questioned the minister’s track record and leadership, including her role in advocating for vulnerable groups.
“If you speak about the protection of children, when have you last heard anything coming from that department … when last did you hear about older persons and the things that she should be championing,” she asked.
In a pointed challenge, Oliphant also questioned Tolashe’s struggle credentials.
“Where was she arrested for the struggle of this country? Even a two-year-old … can tell you where Mandela was arrested … Can she please tell us which prison was she arrested in?”
She further alleged that the minister should resign and answer to the president.
“The minister must not please divert the questions that she needs to give to the president … she must go … and put her resignation so that South Africans can sleep peacefully,” said Oliphant.
Oliphant also made allegations of misconduct, including claims relating to vehicles and financial impropriety, and challenged the minister to produce evidence against her.
In response, the ministry defended Tolashe, stating that Oliphant had been placed on precautionary suspension on September 1 2025 before being dismissed on October 17 2025.
According to the department, in a statement titled “Minister Tolashe pushes back against co-ordinated misinformation”, Oliphant’s claims are “unsubstantiated and misleading” and her actions are aimed at avoiding accountability.
“This conduct is clearly aimed at diverting attention from the real reasons for her dismissal and sowing confusion in the public domain,” the ministry said.
The ministry also said that Tolashe would provide a full account to parliament at the appropriate time.
“Until then, the public is urged to exercise caution and not be misled by narratives that are self-serving and not grounded in verified processes,” they said.
The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of multiple allegations facing the minister, including claims that a department-paid worker was deployed to perform duties at a private residence and was forced to hand over part of her salary to a member of Tolashe’s family.
Tolashe has also faced scrutiny over allegations that she failed to declare two luxury SUVs reportedly gifted by Chinese officials.
She has maintained that the vehicles were donated to the ANC Women’s League.
Opposition parties including ActionSA and the DA have since laid criminal complaints against the minister.
ActionSA MP Dereleen James accused Tolashe of misleading parliament regarding the vehicles while both parties have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to remove her from office.
Despite mounting pressure, Tolashe has denied any wrongdoing and insists she will not step down unless instructed to do so by the president.
Meanwhile, Oliphant signalled that the public feud was far from over, writing in a Facebook post: “Isukile. Uyandiqala uGladys,” loosely translated as, “It has begun. Gladys is provoking me.”
TimesLIVE
Media reports indicate that Tolashe may be involved in relocating a domestic worker to her private residence.
But further than that, the allegation is that she diverted part of her publicly funded salary to one of her children.
I suppose the reports will come, and the president will take some action once they do.
However, for us as ordinary South Africans, the expression of disgust at these allegations cannot wait.
These actions have established a clear modus operandi, which involves diverting resources meant for various public purposes towards family members.
Social development minister and ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) president Sisisi Tolashe faced tough questioning when she appeared before the ANC’s integrity commission on Wednesday, amid escalating fallout over undeclared vehicles allegedly donated by Chinese officials.
Tolashe and minister in the Presidency for planning, monitoring and evaluation Maropene Ramokgopa were called to account over claims they received BAIC SUVs that were neither declared to parliament nor properly accounted for. Ramokgopa, who also serves as the ANC’s second deputy secretary-general, denied receiving any donated vehicles.
According to sources, Tolashe struggled to defend her explanation that she registered the cars in her children’s names to prevent their seizure — an argument that drew sharp scrutiny from the party’s ethics body.
The appearance comes days before a potentially explosive ANCWL national executive committee (NEC) meeting, where the scandal is expected to dominate proceedings.
Insiders describe a deeply divided structure, with some leaders pushing for Tolashe to step aside and face a formal internal investigation. The league’s national working committee (NWC), which meets on Saturday ahead of the NEC, is expected to recommend a probe.
One ANCWL insider said the saga exposes a broader pattern of leaders abusing their positions: “They came in saying they would clean up the league, accusing those of us from Bathabile’s time of looting. Now look — they are coming apart. She must step down, and we will hold her accountable.”
The source pointed to the precedent set when former ANCWL president Bathabile Dlamini was pressured to step down during the Sassa scandal, arguing Tolashe should be treated no differently.
She is a lame duck. The president is not compelled to keep her — she doesn’t carry the weight of someone like Angie Motshekga or Dlamini. If league assets were registered in her children’s names and sold, that is theft.
But another senior ANC figure suggested the party may seek to contain the fallout to avoid internal fractures ahead of elections.
“This is unlikely to end in suspension. There will be pressure on her to explain and possibly return the assets, but ultimately this may be managed politically.”
Even so, the optics are damaging — particularly for a cabinet minister tasked with serving vulnerable communities.
A third ANC leader said Tolashe’s political backing has weakened significantly:
“She is a lame duck. The president is not compelled to keep her — she doesn’t carry the weight of someone like Angie Motshekga or Dlamini. If league assets were registered in her children’s names and sold, that is theft. She will have to account.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance, the ANC’s partner in the government of national unity, said it would open a criminal case and push for a full police investigation into the alleged vehicle donations, insisting the “full might of the law” be applied.
Ramokgopa, by contrast, is understood to have faced less hostility during her appearance. She told the commission she had not received any vehicles in her official capacity, maintaining that cars owned by her family were privately acquired and not linked to any foreign donation.
The extent of the lack of foresight and disconnection from reality of these actions is startling.
If the allegations are proven against the minister, this would be such a tragic betrayal of the efforts of the very political class Tolashe belongs to.
Recently celebrated Worker’s Day would be a painful backdrop against these actions.
The president may wait, but our sheer disgust cannot.
If a member of the political elite can climb to the level of minister and act like Tolashe, allegedly, there is something deeply broken in our political system.
If we wait for too long to fix it, we might have to collect pieces from the rubble of a collapsed society.
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