More than 140 people have been convicted of serious corruption

More than 140 suspects have been convicted of serious corruption in the past four years.

Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) head Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya on Tuesday highlighted the top 45 cases handled since 2018.

“In strengthening the fight against corruption, the anti-corruption task team has been revitalised to fast track criminal investigation, prosecution and asset recovery. There are cases that have been selected, prioritised and monitored on a continuous basis.

“For example, we have cases that are categorised under the top 100, top 33 and top 10, of which the results have been overwhelming.”

A series of serious corruption investigations netted 554 suspects and 142 convictions.

After corruption and drug-related cases, the following form part of the Hawks' top 45 cases:

Case 13: Funeral services for Mandela

On October 5 2021, former Eastern Cape health MEC Sindiswa Gomba and her co-accused made their first appearance in the East London high court on charges of fraud, money laundering, contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and corruption. This was in connection with the procurement of service providers for the transportation and booking of venues during the memorial service and funeral preparations of former president Nelson Mandela by Buffalo City metropolitan municipality.

The case was postponed to September 5-9 and October 17 to November 25 for trial at the Eastern Cape High Court sitting at Bhisho.

Case 14: Mogalakwena municipality corruption

The Hawks served 15 people, including MPL Jabulani Mashamaite, and 13 organisations with summonses regarding allegations of tender corruption at Mogalakwena municipality. The accused also included the former mayor, senior officials, company directors and the wife of a former senior municipal official.

The case is on the roll at Polokwane specialised commercial crimes court on October 7 for pretrial conference.

Case 15: Arms deal

Part of the arms deal case was postponed in the KwaZulu-Natal high court which is sitting at Pietermaritzburg to October 17 and November 7.

Case 16: Rekgonne community projects

In the Estina Dairy Farm investigations irregularities were discovered in the financial flow analysis of a bank account. In June 2014, Rekgonne community projects (RKP) entered into an agreement with the Free State department of agriculture & rural development to implement all projects on the department's behalf for two years. Between 2012 and 2016, the department paid more than R244m to the company.

In April 2021, the department's former CFO Sylvia Dlamini, former HOD Peter Thabethe and the director of RKP, Lena Mohapi, were arrested. They face 54 counts of fraud, theft, corruption, money laundering, forgery and uttering. The Asset Forfeiture Unit attached assets to the value of R249m.

The trial is set for April 11 to May 4 2023 at the Free State High Court.

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