Unpaid Mafoko security guards raise airport, national key point and public sector safety risks. DA, EFF and unions call for intervention.
Unpaid security personnel deployed at airports and other sensitive public sites may be posing a growing safety risk, security experts warned, after an internal Mafoko Security Patrols memorandum confirmed a missed salary payment in December 2025.
Sources close to Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) said this was not the first time Mafoko’s salaries were paid late or sporadically over the past 18 months.
Mafoko has also faced ongoing allegations and litigation linked to unpaid provident fund contributions deducted from workers’ wages.
Late salaries, unpaid pension fund contributions
The non-payment of salaries poses a major risk to sensitive facilities like airports, said security specialist Jimmy Roodt.
“Unpaid security personnel pose significant risks due to low morale, distraction and resentment, which can lead to reduced vigilance, absenteeism or even intentional lapses in duty,” Roodt said.
“In an airport environment, this heightens vulnerabilities such as overlooked suspicious items, inadequate screening or delayed responses to potential threats.”
He said compromised vigilance could directly affect the detection of explosives and other prohibited items.
“These are not minor compliance breaches. They present a real risk of loss of life and could end up causing severe economic disruption,” he said.
An internal Mafoko memorandum dated 5 January 2026, seen by The Citizen, confirmed that the company failed to pay salaries due on 15 December 2025, citing delayed revenue collection. It promised payment only on 15 January 2026.
Major security risk at key points like airports
Beyond heavily delayed salaries, Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said that Mafoko’s outstanding pension fund contribution bill remains massive despite the court ruling.
“Mafoko owes workers an estimated R111 million to R330 million in stolen contributions,” he said. “This is not a mistake. It is a deliberate act of theft and contempt for the law, a corporate crime committed against some of the most vulnerable and exploited workers in our country.
“For years, thousands of Mafoko security guards have seen deductions on their payslips that were meant to secure their future in retirement or provide relief in the event of death or disability, yet those funds never reached the provident fund.”
According to the DA’s Gauteng shadow MEC for Health Jack Bloom, Mafoko holds a three-year R180 million contract to provide security services at George Mukhari Academic Hospital in addition to its Acsa and other public sector contracts.
He said that he was concerned with the overall hospital security costs.
“Hospital security costs have ballooned suspiciously from R655 million in 2022 to an astounding R2.54 billion this year. I suspect corruption, as many security companies seem to be grossly over-charging while underpaying their workers. There have been strikes by security guards who say they have not been paid for months,” he said.
Vavi said the union is calling for the immediate criminal prosecution of Mafoko’s directors and executives, urgent enforcement of all outstanding Pension Funds Adjudicator and High Court rulings including the seizure of company assets, the blacklisting of Mafoko from all state and municipal tenders until full repayment is made, a full forensic audit of the Private Security Sector Provident Fund to establish the total amount owed to workers, and national mobilisation in the security sector through meetings, pickets and marches to demand justice for affected employees.
Criminal offence
Under Section 13A of the Pension Funds Act, failure to pay over retirement fund contributions constitutes a criminal offence and can result in fines of up to R10 million and imprisonment for up to 10 years.
Mafoko, which claims to be Psira-registered on its website (Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority), further indicates that it employs 6 000 staff and focuses on public-sector service provision. It was founded in 2004 by proprietor Erasmus Nare.
Mafoko Security was previously linked to a controversial R185 million SABC security tender awarded in 2017 that the SIU found was irregular, breached PFMA rules and involved financial misconduct by the SABC interim board at the time.
On its social media pages, industry peer IRS Forensic Investigations has called for urgent intervention by the Psira, warning of the national key point risk.
The EFF in Gauteng have also demanded the immediate termination of all Mafoko contracts, accusing the company of failing to pay wages, UIF contributions and pension fund deductions while continuing to receive state work.
When The Citizen contacted Mafoko for comment on Tuesday, a company representative said “no comment” and terminated the call. Questions directed to Acsa chief executive Mpumi Mpofu and Psira are expected to be answered later on Wednesday.
