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By Anita Dangazele
- Peet Viljoen fled South Africa in July 2025 with active NPA warrants against him, including allegations involving over R70 million in stolen stock.
- Viljoen and wife Melany were arrested for shoplifting groceries in Florida in March 2026, detained by US immigration and deported back to South Africa.
Peet Viljoen landed at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday evening. South African authorities were waiting. He was arrested before he left the terminal.
Viljoen, a disgraced lawyer struck off the roll of attorneys in 2011, faces charges of fraud, theft and corruption dating back to 2010. He also faces a hate speech case opened at the Brackendowns police station.
He had been gone for nearly a year. Viljoen and his wife Melany, known to viewers of Die Real Housewives Van Pretoria, fled South Africa in July 2025. Investigations at the time found the couple had manipulated documents to get out of the country. The National Prosecuting Authority had multiple active cases against him, including allegations of theft involving over R70 million in stock.
They did not last long in the US either.
On 10 March 2026, the couple were arrested in Boca Raton, Florida, for felony organised retail theft — shoplifting groceries from a supermarket. Their tourist visas had long expired. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained them both.
Melany was granted voluntary departure and flew home on 24 May. Peet spent roughly 100 days in detention before the US deported him.
While living in the US, Viljoen had posted a string of racist statements about Black people on social media. When reporters asked him about the posts, he did not back down.
“Everything I said is true,” he said.
Among his documented posts was a claim that Black people are responsible for all theft. He and his wife were later arrested for shoplifting groceries.
Pictured above: Peet Viljoen with his wife, Melany.
Image source: Peet Viljoen/ Facebook
