Jimmy Mohlala

Jimmy Mohlala (1965 - 4 January 2009) was a South African politician, whistle-blower and Speaker of the Mbombela Local Municipality in Mpumalanga. He exposed alleged corruption in the awarding of tenders related to the construction of the Mbombela Stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and was assassinated in what many believe was a politically motivated killing to bury the construction tender fraud.

Mohlala was born in 1965 and served as Speaker of the Mbombela Municipality. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he was also vice-president of the South African Football Association (SAFA).

In early 2008, Mohlala blew the whistle on alleged tender irregularities involving Mbombela municipal manager Jacob Dladla and the awarding of multimillion-rand construction contracts for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The tenders were reportedly awarded using fraudulent tax clearance certificates.

According to the Mail & Guardian, Mohlala refused to step down after being recalled by the African National Congress (ANC) for exposing Dladla. He remained defiant even as the party was initiating disciplinary actions against him at the time of his death.

The Mail & Guardian reported that the local council had investigated Dladla for alleged tender manipulation, harassment of employees, and failure to keep the council informed about World Cup infrastructure progress. Some ANC officials allegedly tried to suppress the report.