By Anita Dangazele
- Residents raised the alarm at a tuckshop on 578 Vuyani Street after recognising groceries meant for needy families on the shelves.
- Gauteng Social Development MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko says anyone found stealing food parcels, including government officials, will face criminal charges.
A community in Magaliesburg did what the department could not. They caught someone selling food parcels meant for the poor.
On 26 May 2026, residents gathered outside a tuckshop at 578 Vuyani Street. They told police that groceries being sold there were government food parcels, the kind handed out to struggling families through the Gauteng Department of Social Development.
Police from the Magaliesburg SAPS came out. The shop was opened in their presence. The ward councillor identified the goods as parcels meant for community beneficiaries. Suspects were arrested and a criminal case was opened at the Magaliesburg Police Station.
The tuckshop owner is an Ethiopian national. The department worker allegedly involved has not been named publicly.
Gauteng Social Development MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said the theft was a direct attack on people who depend on government relief to survive.
“Those who steal food intended for struggling families are effectively stealing from the hungry, the elderly, children and vulnerable households who rely on these interventions for dignity and survival,” she said.
The MEC warned that government officials, service providers and private individuals found involved in stealing or selling food parcels would face prosecution. She also warned that businesses buying stolen government goods face the same charges.
The department says it will step up inspections at shops, tuckshops and wholesalers across Gauteng, and is working to digitalise food distribution systems to make it harder to steal parcels before they reach anyone’s door.
Pictured above: Police were called to a tuckshop in Magaliesburg after residents raised the alarm about government food parcels being sold illegally.
Image source: Department of Social Development
