Ex-sheriff boss charged with R2m fraud over 'contract kickbacks'

SA’s former chief sheriff has been charged with fraud, corruption, and money laundering involving R2m.

Hoosain Kagee, former executive manager of the SA Board for Sheriffs, appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town on Wednesday, said Hawks spokesperson Captain Philani Nkwalase.

Kagee is alleged to have recruited several service providers, with the aid of middlemen, in exchange for kickbacks between 2006 and 2014.

“Some of the services rendered include IT services, call-centre contracts, community surveys and property surveys,” said Nkwalase.

Kagee, an attorney who previously worked for the Western Cape government, was released on R5,000 bail and is due to appear at the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Bellville on July 30.

The board for sheriffs is a statutory body tasked with improving the training and performance of sheriffs.

Its website says: “It also plays an indirect role in the appointment of sheriffs through its control over the issuing of fidelity fund certificates, without which a person is not entitled to function as a sheriff.”