Senior health department official Popo Maja's case postponed to February

The corruption trial of national department of health senior official Popo Maja has been postponed until February 13 for setting a trial date. 

Maja appeared in the Pretoria specialised commercial crimes court on Wednesday, where he is facing two counts of corruption worth R15,000. He is on bail of R5,000 after his first court appearance in June.

It is alleged that in 2019 Maja was appointed a member of the bid specification and bid evaluation committee tasked with appointing a service provider to provide communication services in relation to the National Health Insurance bill.

It is alleged that on November 1 2019, the bid evaluation committee members set to evaluate bidders for functional and technical evaluation after Digital Vibes was recommended to be contracted the bid amount of more than R141m for 12 months. 

“The same day the committee sat, it is alleged that an amount of R10,000 was paid into Maja’s personal bank account, from the Digital Vibes bank account.

“A month later, on December 5 2019, R5,000 was paid again to his personal account by Digital Vibes,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said. 

She said on Wednesday, Maja, through his attorney, asked for the relaxation of a bail condition whereby he is supposed to report to the investigating officer every time he leaves Gauteng. His  application was granted. 

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