Match-fixing ex-Bafana boss jailed

Soccer crook Ramakhange Setshedi, 57, exchanged his suit for prison gear yesterday after the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court sentenced him to three years' imprisonment for trying to fix football matches.

The former Bafana Bafana assistant manager and Orlando Pirates team manager was convicted of corruption in December.

Setshedi, better known as 'Phil' or 'Mr Cool', attempted to fix two matches in the Vodacom Promotional League in Cape Town in June 2011. He was bust when the referee to whom he offered a R6000 bribe blew the whistle.

But a referee - a witness - who cannot be named for fear of victimisation, was denied immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony after the court discovered that he had lied.

State prosecutor Louis van Niekerk said the referee was "caught lying about [a] cellphone contact" between himself and another witness. He said the referee also lied to the court about how Setshedi's match-fixing dealings became known to Safa.

Eric Ntabazalila, spokesman for the National Prosecution Authority in Western Cape, could not say whether any action would be taken against the match official. "[The matter] is sub judice," he said.

Setshedi was involved with the Mpumalanga Sevutsha Stars, a team that sought promotion to the lucrative national first division.

Van Niekerk said it took the state 15 witnesses - most had to be flown from Johannesburg - and "many hours in court" to convince Setshedi to admit to the crime.

Handing down the sentence, Magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg said Setshedi had a "responsibility to be a good example" to his three children but he had failed them.

Sonnenberg said the health problems, including high blood pressure, that Setshedi complained about to a probation officer had not stopped him from committing the crime and that he had shown no remorse for his actions.

"Match-fixing by itself is very stressful," said Sonnenberg. "You shortened the trial by making admissions. However, it is undisputed that your honesty came after the court called 15 witnesses."

Sonneberg sentenced Setshedi to three years in prison. The court imposed an additional five-year prison term, which was suspended.

The court also declared him unfit to own a firearm. The court heard that Setshedi owns a house in Sandton, Johannesburg, and a fleet of luxury cars.

On Monday the SA Football Association asked the court to mete out a harsh sentence to Setshedi, as a deterrent. Mlungisi Ncame, Safa's head of security, said match-fixing is rife and that the association received at least two allegations of corruption every month.