Two were defrauded of close to R200 000 – which was supposed to pay for foreign tourists to visit the landmark but ended up a private bank account.
When three incentive tour groups from Thailand were about to board the ferry from the V&A Waterfront to Robben Island in July 2024, the organiser was told that payment had not been received and the tourists would be blocked from boarding unless immediate payment was made.
“But we’ve already paid R99 174,” protested the tour operator, to no avail. The company – Royal African Discoveries – hastily made arrangements to pay for the Robben Island tour a second time. The tourists were then allowed to board the ferry.
Robben Island, home to the infamous apartheid-era prison where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years behind bars, attracts close to 250 000 visitors a year and is one of Cape Town’s top tourist attractions. It falls under the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
Robben Island fraud
Tour companies have complained that the island is being run into the ground and that connecting ferries from the V&A Waterfront are sometimes cancelled with almost no notice due to staff meetings, or private functions.
In the case of the missing R99 174, what later transpired was that when the tour was originally booked, the invoice from Robben Island Museum (RIM) had been tampered with and the banking details changed.
The emailed invoice and booking details all originated from the Robben Island domain, which means it cannot have been intercepted from outside. It suggests the fraud came from someone inside.
The tour company escalated the matter to senior executives within RIM, and it appears the person responsible for the bookings had been placed on leave.
The investigation continued, and an outside forensic investigation firm, Bokang Africa Forensics, was put on the case.
After repeatedly hounding various executives at Robben Island, a Zoom meeting was arranged in which acting RIM CEO Jonty Tshipa was present. He promised that payment would be made by March 2025 provided Royal African Discoveries signed a settlement agreement – which it did.
This wasn’t the only incident of this kind
In August 2024, tour company Dragonfly Africa Tours uncovered a fraudulent transaction amounting to R84 000 after funds intended for RIM were diverted to another bank account.
As in the case of Royal African Discoveries, tourists were prevented from boarding the connecting ferry from Cape Town until funds had been paid into the correct account.
“Until today no payment has been forthcoming,” says Dragonfly Group Financial Director Johan van Wijk, though Robben Island made contact on 19 March 2026 with an acknowledgement that the money would be refunded.
It’s the same story for Royal African Discoveries.
David Frost, CEO of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association, brought the two cases of fraud to the attention of Tourism Minister Patricia De Lille, in a June 2025 letter.
“The fraud has occurred on RIM’s side, with informal admission from RIM’s Senior Risk Manager, Carly Bongers, yet no formal acknowledgment or action appears to have been taken,” wrote Frost.
“Despite promptly notifying RIM and submitting all relevant documentation, Dragonfly has received minimal feedback, with the last meaningful communication dated 6 November 2024.”
The fraudulent account was with Nedbank, which advised that only RIM could open a criminal case to investigate the matter further.
As at the time of writing, neither company had been repaid the stolen money – nearly two years after the event.
Moneyweb directed questions to Robben Island and on 19 March 2026, Jonty Tshipa responded with the following: “My colleagues are currently attending to the payment and have been in contact with the affected party. All our rights remain reserved.”
Tshipa did not respond to the other questions raised by Moneyweb:
- From the attached evidence it is clear that Robben Island (RI) has admitted the theft. A forensic investigation was undertaken. Can you share the results of this investigation including the identity of the culprit and what action has been taken against him/her?
- What was the cost of this investigation?
- Commitments have been made to refund the two companies yet this has not happened. Can you explain why and when payment will be made? What steps have been put in place to prevent this from recurring?
- We are informed that tours [to the island] have been cancelled because of a “staff meeting”. This seems to indicate a disregard for the public and tourists that support the island. Please clarify.
No response was received to these questions.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
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