Royal family alleges metro cop Nonyane, attorney wife defrauded them

The family of the late chief Hlengani Maswanganyi has joined a list of alleged victims of fraud committed by attorney Charlotte Tibana and her metro cop husband.

The Maswanganyi royal family in Giyani, Limpopo, have revealed that they were defrauded of millions of rand of funds from the deceased estate.

Tibana , 33, and her husband, Peter “Greater Gagash” Nonyane, appeared in the Polokwane high court on Monday to face charges of money laundering and theft over allegations that they unlawfully withdrew funds belonging to two deceased estates .

According to the family of the late chief, another attorney approached them in August 2023 and promised to help expedite the sharing of the deceased estate.

Family spokesperson Thembani Maswanganyi said the initial attorney then referred the matter to Tibana, claiming he did not deal directly with executorship matters but knew Tibana did.

I think she took advantage of the family politics because my uncle never had a will, and none of the marriages to the five wives were registered.

“So the process began in November 2023. By January 2024, Tibana had obtained executorship, but she only started paying out the family in 2025, with the last payment in July of 2026.”

Thembani said his uncle had five wives and 10 children, and during the sharing of the estate there was debate on who got what, particularly among the wives.

“I think she took advantage of the family politics because my uncle never had a will, and none of the marriages to the five wives were registered.

“Lobola was paid for all of them, and there were celebrations. So at home affairs the marriages were never registered, with the first wife later claiming to be the only wife.

“The family resolved that they would all get an equivalent share from the estate.”

According to Thembani, the estate available for distribution was worth R4.6m, but the family received R1.47m, which was shared evenly among all the children.

“There is no clarity about the balance of the estate; instead, Tibana tried to defraud one of the wives by requesting the marriage certificate and promising to pay 50% of what remained of the estate via dubious, fraudulent acts.”

However, Thembani said it failed because there was no marriage certificate.