WATCH | Mongameli Bobani laughs off questions about Hawks raid

Mayor Mongameli Bobani laughed hysterically as a reporter from The Herald asked him about the raid on his office and home on Tuesday.

Bobani said he would have a press conference at noon to speak on the matter.

"There will be no further comment," he said.

Bobani's office and home were raided by the Hawks on Tuesday in the presence of his legal representatives. In the swoop, the Hawks seized cellphones and a laptop belonging to Bobani's wife.

It is the second raid in six months. 

In October, the Hawks seized documents, cellphones and laptops in another probe linked to the Integrated Public Transport System.

Bobani's attorney, Danie Gouws, confirmed the raid this week stems from the Milongani forensic report.

The Milongani draft report by PricewaterhouseCoopers details allegations of tender rigging, fraud and collusion by officials in the municipality's public health department.

The company, Milongani Eco-Consulting, received R25.6m for environmental management services.

The probe found that about R18.5m of the total that was paid to Milongani under the guise of "waste diversion and beneficiation" was actually for the salaries of six interns and a retired metro employee paid through Milongani. But the salaries paid to the staff over 16 months actually amounted to R1.3m, according to the report.

Bobani, who was political head of the public health department for the latter part of Milongani’s three-year contract, was not named as having done anything untoward in the draft report seen by The Herald.

The final report is yet to be released.

Bobani was fired from the position in May 2017 by then mayor Athol Trollip amid claims that irregular payments had been made to Milongani while Bobani held the position in public health.