South African businessman Thakgalo Aphane’s Moreku Holdings hit with legal setback in BMW debt dispute

South African businessman Thakgalo W. Aphane’s Moreku Holdings (Moreku) has suffered a legal setback after the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg dismissed its challenge to BMW Financial Services South Africa’s claim over an alleged R4.6 million ($288,008) debt owed.

Acting Judge Vetter dismissed an exception brought by Moreku Holdings and Matete Pedecia Aphane, who is cited as surety, finding that they had failed to demonstrate that BMW’s particulars of claim were vague, embarrassing or incapable of sustaining a cause of action. 

The judgment, handed down on August 31, 2026, allows BMW’s contractual claim to proceed. The dispute stems from a written instalment sale agreement between BMW and Moreku Holdings concluded in Midrand on October 8, 2021.

BMW’s contractual claim survives court challenge

BMW is pursuing Moreku for the outstanding balance under the instalment sale agreement, while Aphane is cited as surety for the debt.

Moreku and Aphane challenged BMW’s particulars of claim, arguing that the company had failed to attach the actual instalment sale agreement to its court papers as required under Rule 18(6) of the Uniform Rules of Court.

They contended that the document attached by BMW was instead a quotation and pre-agreement statement. The court rejected the argument, finding that BMW’s particulars expressly identified the document as a written instalment sale agreement, stated when and where it was concluded and identified the parties to the transaction.

Judge Vetter further found that the attached document, read as a whole, contained provisions defining the agreement to include the quotation. The court therefore concluded that the defendants had not established that BMW’s claim lacked a valid cause of action.

National Credit Act argument rejected

Moreku and Aphane also argued that the National Credit Act did not apply to the transaction because Moreku’s assets or annual turnover allegedly exceeded R1 million when the agreement was concluded.

The court found that the argument could not be determined at the exception stage because the alleged R1 million threshold was not contained in BMW’s particulars of claim. Instead, the defendants had introduced the relevant facts themselves.

Judge Vetter held that BMW’s case was based primarily on the instalment sale agreement, its alleged breach, cancellation and the related suretyship.

The defendants remain entitled to challenge the applicability of the National Credit Act in their pleadings and present evidence at trial. However, the court found they could not rely on an exception to introduce facts that were not part of BMW’s pleaded case.

The court also rejected arguments concerning sections 92 and 93 of the Act, finding that these issues relate to the merits of the dispute rather than the adequacy of BMW’s pleadings.

Moreku faces legal costs

Moreku Investment Holdings, founded by South African businessman Thakgalo W. Aphane in 2010, is a black-owned investment group with interests including debt management, luxury cars and mobile services. Following the dismissal of the exception, Moreku Holdings and Aphane were ordered to pay BMW Financial Services’ legal costs jointly and severally, with one paying and the other being absolved. Costs were awarded on a scale B basis, reflecting the R4.6 million balance claimed. 

The judgment does not determine whether Moreku ultimately owes the full amount. Instead, it allows BMW’s contractual claim to proceed, leaving the defendants to contest the debt and other substantive issues at trial. The case was heard on August 25, 2026, with the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court in Johannesburg delivering judgment on August 31.