Hawks seize documents in raid at North West premier’s offices

The Hawks have seized documents in a raid at the offices of North West premier Supra Mahumapelo on Thursday.

After a lengthy search and seizure operation‚ Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso said the documents would aid them in an investigation into maladministration‚ fraud and corruption they were conducting.

"The monetary value involved is approximately R160-million‚" said Rikhotso.

"No arrests were effected at this stage pending further investigation. This is an ongoing probe and we cannot divulge any further information. Investigations continue."

Earlier‚ Mahumapelo's spokesperson‚ Brian Setswambung‚ told TimesLIVE that the Hawks' raid at their offices was linked to the leak of contracts between them and IT company Nepo Data Dynamics‚ which was contracted to integrate the province's IT systems.

Nepo Data Dynamics had been given a three-year multi-million rand contract back in 2016.

"Last week a junior employee is believed to have been enticed into stealing these documents‚" said Setswambung. The documents were then circulated on social media.

"We have had our own internal investigations into the matter and we are cooperating with the Hawks. These are part of the premier's efforts to intensify efforts to root out corruption‚" said Setswambung.

"We welcome the Hawks investigating and will cooperate fully‚" he added.

Mahumpelo was not present at the time of the raid. Setwambung said a media briefing would later be held to address the matter.

It was understood that Hawks investigators had not searched Mahumapelo's personal office but searched other sections in the building. These included the supply chain office that deals with procurement‚ and the financial office.