'Too wealthy' businessman on the ropes
Zimbabwean businessman Lawrence Mudzinganyama has received massive backlash after boasting that he is 'too wealthy' to get into trouble for following and verbally attacking a group of women in a bathroom, reports News24.
The incident was caught on camera and showed the Moriel Infrastructure Group director and executive chairperson threatening to shoot the women because they rejected his advances.
It unfolded on Friday night at Vlamo, a restaurant at Sandton Gate in Johannesburg.
Mudzinganyama has since been charged with intimidation and is expected to appear in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
The Moriel Infrastructure Group is a Johannesburg construction and engineering company which holds two SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) contracts with a combined face value of roughly R179m.
Meanwhile, in a media statement on Sunday, the group's board said it had 'resolved to terminate its association' with Mudzinganyama with immediate effect.
Since the video surfaced on social media, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy ordered an investigation to determine whether the group was lawfully appointed to the Sanral contracts.
Public Works & Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson ordered the Construction Industry Development Board to investigate allegations that the company obtained several contractor gradings on a single day without qualifying for them.
Police Minister Firoz Cachalia asked the Department of Home Affairs to examine Mudzinganyama’s immigration status.
On Sunday, the Steyn City luxury estate, where Mudzinganyama boasted of living, also cancelled his lease.
Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth & Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Letsike has also called on the Department of Home affairs to consider action against Mudzinganyama.
According to The Citizen, Letsike yesterday condemned the alleged misogynistic conduct and welcomed a series of consequences following the incident, including the man’s removal from his corporate positions and the termination of his lease.
The Deputy Minister also confirmed that her office would petition the Home Affairs Minister to urgently consider the man’s immigration status in SA.
Letsike called on Home Affairs to establish whether Mudzinganyama meets the legal grounds for classification as a prohibited or undesirable person under sections 29 or 30 of the Immigration Act.
Letsike said the threats captured on video could not be dismissed as an unfortunate exchange or a momentary loss of temper.
She said the incident reflected the dangerous entitlement underlying gender-based violence and femicide. She also echoed the condemnation issued by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide and Substance Abuse, while stressing that the courts must determine criminal liability.
The Deputy Minister said the backlash demonstrated that abusive conduct could carry consequences beyond the criminal justice system.
Mudzinganyama has been arrested after handing himself over to police, reports The Herald.
Addressing the media yesterday outside the Boksburg Magistrate’s court, Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili said Mudzinganyama handed himself over at the Randburg police station and was released on a warning to appear in court on 1 October 2026.
Police said investigators now had to gather and assess all available evidence before the docket was handed to prosecutors.
She said while investigators had to follow due process, threats and intimidation directed at women would not be tolerated.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
