The company linked to the Zimbabwean man who threatened to shoot women in a bathroom at a Sandton restaurant after they rejected his advances is among 75 the government has blacklisted after findings of misrepresentation, reports TimesLIVE.

Public Works & Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson announced the blacklisting of Moriel Group and 74 other contractors during a media briefing in Pretoria yesterday, outlining the steps that led to the decision.

Lawrence Mudzinganyama, who was a director and executive chair of Moriel Group, came into the spotlight in September after a viral video showed him allegedly threatening a group of women. In the footage that went viral, Mudzinganyama could be heard telling the women he was ‘too wealthy’ for them and demanding respect during a heated exchange in which he threatened to shoot them.

He was subsequently arrested and charged with intimidation. 

According to Macpherson, investigations into Moriel Group began long before the social media coverage in September.

‘The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) began its investigation into the company in 2025 and served its formal notice in that year. After further investigation, an additional notice was served in September 2026,’ Macpherson said.

He said serious concerns had been raised about whether Moriel Group had misrepresented its financial and technical capabilities to secure public sector contracts for which it may not have been suitably qualified.

CIDB board chair Khulile Nzo said the message is simple: access to public procurement opportunities must be earned through genuine capabilities and compliance with the rules. It cannot be obtained through fraud, forgery and misrepresentation, he said.

Macpherson said the CIDB has been regularly gazetting blacklisted contractors, with a further 13 contractors to be added to the list this month, according to News24.

The CIDB, said Macpherson, working within its statutory mandate, ‘has intensified its efforts to identify and remove contractors who have misrepresented themselves or breached the conditions of their registration’. 

He added that this had led to increased enforcement, with ‘the consequences that follow’.

Public money, the Minister said, had been wasted on projects which have been delayed, abandoned, or poorly executed, ‘while honest contractors who play by the rules have been forced to compete against those who manipulate the system, which is not fair’.

Full TimesLIVE report

Full News24 report