FORMER MISA SENIOR OFFICIAL SENT TO JAIL FOR CORRUPTION RELATED TO DIGITAL VIBES
The Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced a former senior Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA) official, Lizeka Tonjeni (49) to 5 years direct imprisonment in terms of section 276 (1)( i )of the Criminal Procedure Act, for corruption related to the Digital Vibes contract. This is after she was convicted of one count of corruption worth R160 000.
MISA is a national government component that is accountable to the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA). In 2018 when MISA awarded a tender of almost R4 million to Digital Vibes to render communication services for a period of 24 months, Tonjeni was nominated as a project manager responsible for the appointment and management of the service provider, and to whom all communication had to be addressed. From December 2018 until August 2020, while Tonjeni was still a project manager, she received payments of R160 000.00 that were not authorised and due to her, from Digital Vibes. After investigations by the Hawks Serious Corruption Offences (SCO), Tonjeni was arrested after she handed herself to the police at the Pretoria Central Police Station on 24 May 2022.
In court, she pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied that she received payments from Digital Vibes in a corrupt manner. In her testimony she said, the payments received from the brain behind Digital Vibes, Tahera Mather, were for weight loss and energy booster products she was selling and as such she still owes the director of Digital Vibes R85 000, since she was unable to deliver some of the products and pay back her money. However, a team of prosecutors, Advocates Willem van Zyl and Phumla Dwane-Alpman, called witnesses who are MISA employees, to testify and adduced evidence to prove that indeed Tonjeni was guilty of the charges preferred against her.
During the sentencing proceedings, Tonjeni asked the court to impose a non-custodial sentence of correctional supervision because she has a minor child to take care of. However, the prosecutors, asked for a sentence of direct imprisonment because Tonjeni committed a serious offence of corruption that is widespread on the part of state functionaries which has become endemic in South Africa, that she committed the offence over a period of time and caused reputational damage to MISA. Evidence clearly showed that it was MISA’s money that ultimately ended up in Tonjeni’s hands., Furthermore, the two advocates told the court that Tonjeni showed no remorse for the offences committed, and did not take the court into her confidence when she lied about the circumstances of her child. Furthermore, having a minor child is not a get out of jail free card that offenders can use to escape prison, they added. Therefore, placing too much emphasis on the child and not impose imprisonment will send a wrong message to society.
When handing down the sentence, magistrate Setshoge said corrupt activities have become pandemic in the country especially in parastatals and procurement. This case was a classic example of that. Tonjeni committed the offence to feed her greed. Therefore, she found that the mitigating factors were overwhelmed by the aggravating factors. Therefore, the sentence given was appropriate.
The NPA welcomes the sentence and wants to send a strong message that corrupt officials know that impunity is no longer a given and that dreaded knock on the door has become a realistic prospect.
