SEKHUKHUNE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY SENIOR OFFICIAL AND ACCOMPLICES ARRESTED FOR FRAUD
LIMPOPO – The Senior Administration Officer (45) at Sekhukhune District Municipality and three accomplices have been arrested by the Polokwane based Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation members for alleged fraud.
It is alleged that in 2018, the Sekhukhune District Municipality awarded tenders worth over R5 million to different companies to provide security services.
It is further alleged that the former municipal Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Senior Administration Officer connived with other companies who never rendered any service to deposit money into their accounts that was later shared among themselves. As a result, the companies that rendered the services did not receive their payments.
The matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation members for further probe. On 28 September 2023, a take-down operation was conducted in Groblersdal and it resulted in the arrest of the former municipal official, Andries Mokgotho (45) and two (2) service providers, Bongani Masupye (34) and Shivhadana Murovhi (39).
During the take-down operation, the Senior Administration Officer was not found but she handed herself to the Hawks this morning ( 29 September 2023). The former CFO is still on the run but he is being traced.
The accused (Mokgotho, Masopye and Murovhi) who were arrested yesterday already appeared in the Groblersdal Magistrate’s Court this morning facing fraud and theft charges and they were remanded in custody until 4 October 2023 for formal bail application. The Senior Administration Officer will make her first appearance in the Groblersdal Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 2 October 2023.
The Provincial Head of the Hawks in Limpopo Province, Major General Gopz Govender has welcomed the arrests and vowed to hunt down the outstanding suspects. “We are on a mission to clean both government and private sectors by rooting out corruption. This is just the beginning, more takedown operations are still going to be conducted”, Major General Govender concluded.
