Moorosi Tsiane
THE bitter multimillion-maloti battle over the Mafatle family business empire is far from over after prominent lawyer Advocate Tiisetso Sello-Mafatle escalated the dispute to the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn a Commercial Court ruling that left her husband, businessman Teboho Mafatle, in control of seven jointly owned companies.
In her appeal, Adv Sello-Mafatle argues that Commercial Court Judge Moneuoa Kopo committed serious legal errors when he dismissed her application for judicial management of the companies.
She contends that the judge prematurely determined the merits of the case, denied her an opportunity to fully argue her application and unlawfully overturned an earlier provisional order placing the companies under judicial management.
The latest appeal marks another chapter in the high-profile legal battle between the estranged couple over control of their multimillion-maloti business empire.
Adv Sello-Mafatle first approached the Commercial Court in May 2026 seeking an order placing seven companies jointly owned by the couple under judicial management. She alleged that Mr Mafatle, who oversaw the day-to-day operations of the businesses, diverted company funds and assets to bankroll lavish lifestyles for women she described as his mistresses while secretly building a separate business empire.
She further alleged that company funds were used to purchase properties, vehicles and other luxury items for the women while she was systematically excluded from businesses the couple had built together over many years.
The companies at the centre of the dispute are Thabeng Hotel, Exo Expo Trailers (Pty) Ltd, Rebang Investment (Pty) Ltd, Trailerland (Pty) Ltd, In-Exit Express (Pty) Ltd, Leralleng Investment (Pty) Ltd and Sea-Point Trailers & Equipment Hire (Pty) Ltd.
On 1 June 2026, Justice Moroke Mokhesi granted an interim order placing the companies under provisional judicial management and appointed chartered accountant Api Setsabi and Attorney Qhalehang Letsika to investigate their financial affairs pending the final determination of the matter.
However, that order was overturned on 13 July 2026 when Justice Kopo ruled that Adv Sello-Mafatle had failed to establish that the companies were being looted or mismanaged. He concluded that the dispute stemmed primarily from the couple’s deteriorating marriage rather than corporate collapse.
Justice Kopo also discharged Justice Mokhesi’s provisional judicial management order, finding that the application relied substantially on hearsay evidence and allegations that could not properly be resolved through affidavit proceedings.
Unhappy with that outcome, Adv Sello-Mafatle has now petitioned the Court of Appeal, arguing that Justice Kopo fundamentally misdirected himself.
In her notice of appeal, she argues that the Commercial Court should never have determined the merits of the application because, in her view, the matter was not yet ripe for hearing.
“The court a quo erred and misdirected itself in dismissing the application and discharging the rule, as the matter was not ripe for hearing and the merits of the application were not up for debate, argument or determination at the time the court a quo granted judgment in the matter,” she states.
She further contends that Justice Kopo denied her procedural fairness by dismissing the matter without allowing her to present full argument on the substantive issues before the court.
“The court a quo erred and misdirected itself in dismissing the application and discharging the rule without granting or affording the appellant an opportunity to be heard or to argue the merits of the application, in circumstances where the appellant’s arguments were clearly limited to the issue of ripeness of the matter.”
Adv Sello-Mafatle also argues that Justice Kopo exceeded his powers by effectively overturning Justice Mokhesi’s provisional judicial management order, which she says remained valid and binding until the application was finally determined.
According to her appeal papers, Justice Kopo improperly sat in review of another High Court judge’s order.
“The court a quo erred and misdirected itself in dismissing the application and discharging the rule in circumstances where Judge Kopo was bound by the provisional judicial management order previously granted by Justice Mokhesi. Justice Kopo unjustifiably sat in judgment and review over the provisional judicial management order aforesaid.”
She further argues that the Commercial Court violated her procedural rights by failing to follow the process outlined in her Notice of Motion and reinforced by Justice Mokhesi’s interim order.
Adv Sello-Mafatle also challenges Justice Kopo’s finding that her application relied on hearsay evidence, arguing that Justice Mokhesi had already examined the same papers before concluding that a provisional judicial management order was justified.
She maintains there was no legal basis for setting aside that earlier order before the matter had been fully argued.
In the appeal, she asks the Court of Appeal to reinstate Justice Mokhesi’s provisional judicial management order and declare it valid until the substantive application has been heard and determined.
She also seeks an order setting aside Justice Kopo’s judgment and replacing it with one declaring that the application was not yet ripe for determination on its merits.
“The appellant prays that the appeal be upheld, the provisional judicial management order be declared extant and operational until the final determination of the application, and the order of the court a quo be set aside and substituted with an order that this application is not ripe for hearing on the merits. The matter must proceed in terms of the timelines stated in the Notice of Motion and the provisional judicial management order of Justice Mokhesi.”