Category: Crime & Corruption News

The South African Police Service (SAPS) have confirmed the arrest of a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) in Mpumalanga.

In a statement, police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the suspect, accompanied by his attorney, on Monday handed himself over to police in Nelspruit in connection with at least two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

He said the 45-year-old MEC was alleged to have been involved in a shooting, where two people were fatally shot and a third person wounded on 22 August 2021 in Nelspruit.

“His arrest brings to three the total number of people arrested in connection with this case. On 17 September 2021, police arrested Joseph Charlie Ngwenya (35) and Tshepo Matsane (30). They both appeared in court at least twice before being granted bail of R20 000 each on Friday, 8 October 2021,” said Naidoo.

He said the MEC was expected to appear in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court soon on the murder and attempted murder charges.

The City of Tshwane has warned the public about scammers who are going around Tshwane charging application fees for the city’s Marabastad Townland Social Housing Project.

The city’s MMC for Human Settlements, Mpho Mehlape-Zimu, said the scammers impersonate and act as agents or officials of the Housing Company Tshwane (HCT), a housing entity of the City of Tshwane.

“The City would like to make it unreservedly clear to our residents that the application process for the Marabastad Townland Social Housing Project is free of charge. Another important notice for residents is that applications for Phase 1 opened on 20 September 2021 and officially closed on 1 October 2021,” Mehlape-Zimu said.

The multimillion rand social housing project, which is managed by HCT, consists of 1 200 mixed units, and is set to benefit Tshwane residents who do not qualify for government sponsored housing, and do not earn enough to qualify for home loans (earning between R1 500 ad R15 000 per month).

Following the opening of the application process, Mehlape-Zimu said the HCT has received an overwhelming response.

“HCT would like to inform applicants that the screening and vetting process has started in earnest and should be concluded by 26 October 2021 [and] both successful and unsuccessful applicants will receive communication relating to the outcome of their application by 28 October 2021.

“All successful applicants in the pre-screening phase will be invited to attend a compulsory information session. The details of the session will be communicated via SMS or email notification that will be sent by HCT,” she said.

The City also reminded applicants that the social housing project is “purely for rental with no option for ownership”.

Western Cape police last week scored major successes when 19 illegal firearms, 790 rounds of ammunition and drugs worth R2 million were confiscated during various operations.

Provincial SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Novela Potelwa, said the operations were executed throughout the province between Monday and Sunday.

The operations, she said, had a specific focus on identified hotspots and crime generators.

“In the main, illegal firearms and to some extent, other dangerous weapons, continue to contribute to serious violent crimes such as murder, attempted murder, hijacking and armed robbery. The seizures comprised rifles, pistols, gas guns and imitation firearms.”

On Thursday evening, members of the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) chased and arrested a 40-year-old suspect from Bonteheuwel and seized an unlicensed rifle. The next day, AGU in Bishop Lavis confiscated two pistols and charged a 34-year-old suspect with strong links to gangs.  He was charged with possession of prohibited firearms.

Meanwhile, members of the Cape Town K-9 unit on Thursday followed up on information about a vehicle, whose occupants were behaving suspiciously in the Blackheath industrial area.

Potelwa said police, upon searching the vehicle on the corner of Range and Stellenbosch Arterial roads, discovered a 9mm firearm in a black paper bag on the back seat and another 9mm pistol on one of the four occupants of the vehicle. All four suspects were subsequently arrested.

“Lockdown II forces deployed in Delft stopped and searched several persons and seized 16 knives and dangerous weapons. The same Lockdown II forces discovered an abandoned gas gun in Viscount Street at The Hague.

“Two suspects, aged 28 and 30, were arrested by police in Basboom Street in Delft South on Tuesday for possession of homemade guns (zip guns),” she said.

Meanwhile in Atlantis, a 17-year-old was apprehended by the Atlantis crime prevention unit members for possession of a 9mm pistol. In the same precinct, a 28-year-old was arrested for possession of an imitation firearm on Monday.

Other firearms were seized in operations in Nyanga, Gugulethu, Delft, Steenberg and Khayelitsha.

On Saturday evening, the Breede River K-9 unit members arrested three suspects – aged 20, 23 and 26- in Roodewal Flats, Worcester, for possession of stolen vehicle batteries.

Three suspects were arrested by Lockdown II forces on Saturday in Nyanga at a vehicle checkpoint with house breaking implements. The vehicle the suspects were in was discovered to have been stolen in September in Harare, Khayelitsha. The vehicle has since been linked to several house robberies.

The three suspects – aged 17, 23 and 24 – have been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and house breaking implements. As investigations continue, the suspects could face additional charges.

On Sunday morning, members of the George Public Order Police, deployed in hotspots in the Cape Town metropole, discovered during a routine stop and search on Lillian Ngoyi Street, Samora Machel, a vehicle reportedly stolen in Indwe in the Eastern Cape in June 2021. A 33-year-old suspect was henceforth arrested.

On the drug front, Eden and Central Karoo rural flying squad members intercepted drug consignments worth over R2 million in two major seizures during the week.

All suspects arrested over the weekend will appear in various courts on Monday.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development says it has made strides in recovery after its IT systems experienced a ransomware attack last month.

During the attack, the department’s IT systems were encrypted and unavailable to officials and the public and affecting all of the department’s electronic systems.

The department now says the spread of the malware – or malicious software – has been contained and some online services have been restored.

According to the department, a team comprising of departmental officials, industry specialists and advisors from organs of State is working to ensure as little disruption as possible to child maintenance payments in particular.

“Another critical area that has been given high priority is the electronic recording of court proceedings to ensure that courts are able to operate as normal. Most of the recordings are intact, and able to sync back to the central repository.

“Where courts are still experiencing challenges, a special capacity has been deployed to attend to queries on a case-by-case basis. The web portal that is used by transcribers to download court recordings for transcription purposes was successfully restored,” the department said in a statement.

Progress has also been made in the restoration on its Integrated Case Management System – an administration system used in the courts.

“Parts of the system are already accessible, such as curatorship, and the online portals used for historic searches. More work will be done in the next few days to complete the process of bringing back online functionality in respect of Trusts, Deceased Estates and Insolvencies, among others,” the Justice department said.

The department added that a high-level assessment on the 1 200 files containing personal information that may have been compromised during the attack has been finalised.

“The department has strengthened security measures to protect sensitive personal information under its custodianship. Measures include upgrading our ICT security infrastructure and ensuring more stringent access control electronic and physical,” it said.

A former Eastern Cape senior educational specialist is expected to appear in the Gqeberha Magistrates’ Court for numerous allegations of fraud and money laundering.

This comes after she was summoned by the Gqeberha-based Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Hawks said: “Between January 2009 and November 2010, the suspect, who was employed by the Eastern Cape Department of Education as a senior educational specialist and the coordinator of the Early Childhood Development Learning Programme, allegedly processed various fraudulent applications accompanied and supported by false documents, which resulted in the irregular appointment of persons and payment of salaries of Grade R practitioners by the department.”

It is alleged that she induced the officials of the department to approve the appointments of the said persons as Grade R practitioners and to further approve the payment of monthly stipends in various amounts. The practitioners are reported to have been given an instruction by the suspect to withdraw the monies and hand them over to her.

The Hawks said the department, acting on the false information given by the suspect, paid a collective amount of more than R1.2 million.

“The summons were served after an intensive investigation since the complaint was lodged with the Hawks in December 2010. She is expected to make her first court appearance on 25 October 2021,” said the Hawks.

Police in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have mobilised the 72-hour Activation Plan following the attack on six police officers in separate incidents within 48 hours.

The 72-hour Activation Plan entails the mobilisation of various disciplines of the SAPS including Crime Intelligence, Forensic experts, detectives, specialised tactical units as well as the Hawks in a bid to apprehend a group of suspects who were behind the attack on the police officers.

In a statement, the SAPS on Tuesday said: “In the latest incident which happened in the early hours of Tuesday, in Orange Farm, Gauteng, two police officials were patrolling in an unmarked police vehicle when they noticed an abandoned bakkie on the side of the road.

“As the police officers approached the abandoned vehicle to investigate, a group of suspects opened fire on them wounding both members. Sadly, a reservist constable died at the scene.”

SAPS spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe said another member survived the ordeal and has been hospitalised. The group of suspects fled the scene taking with them the keys of the police vehicle.

She said a case of murder and attempted murder had been registered.

KZN incident

In Sydenham, KwaZulu-Natal, police officers were conducting patrols along Locksley Drive on Monday morning when they spotted a suspicious vehicle with three occupants.

Mathe said as the vehicle approached, shots were fired by the suspects resulting in a shootout between the police and the suspects.

“A police officer was wounded and taken to hospital for medical attention. The suspects fled the scene on foot leaving behind an unlicensed firearm and a stolen vehicle which are now in police custody. A case of attempted murder has been registered,” she said.

Separate incidents in KZN

Still in KwaZulu-Natal, on Sunday evening, a police officer died and two others were wounded in two separate incidents in Greytown.

In the first incident, two members were driving from Greytown to Tugela Ferry when they stopped alongside the road. An unknown motor vehicle stopped beside the police vehicle and shot both members. Both members managed to drive to a nearby hospital for medical care. Sadly, one of them, an SAPS constable, succumbed to his injuries and the other member is still receiving medical care at a local health facility in KZN. The motive for the incident is unknown. A case of murder and attempted murder has been registered.

In the second incident, a member was walking alongside the railway line between Gugulethu and Nhlalakahle Location when he was accosted by two unknown African males.

One of the males demanded cash and cellphones. The member surrendered his possessions and thereafter managed to draw his state firearm where he shot one of the male suspects.

The other male suspect shot the member on the leg and managed to get away. The wounded suspect succumbed to his injuries on scene and was found in possession of the members stolen items. Two unlicensed firearms were also found next to the body of the deceased suspect. A case of attempted murder, inquest and armed robbery have been registered.

National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole has condemned the attack and killing of the police officials and directed both the Provincial Commissioners of Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng to implement the 72 hour activation plan to hunt down the suspects in all cases.

In the statement, Sitole conveyed condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased members and wished all injured members a speedy recovery.

“We appeal to anyone who may have information on these attacks to please contact the SAPS on 086 00 10111. Information may also be communicated via MySAPSApp, an application which can be downloaded on any iPhone or Android,” said Mathe.

All information, she said, would be treated with strictest confidence and callers may remain anonymous.

At least 1 200 files, which include the names, banking details and contact details of those who have submitted personal information to the Department of Justice, may have been compromised during a ransomware attack on the department’s IT systems in September.

This is according to the department’s Director-General Advocate, Doctor Mashabane.

The ransomware attack left all of the department’s information systems encrypted and unavailable, with the department later recovering some functionality on its maintenance payment system.

“Since the breach occurred, the department analysed the nature and extent of the breach, and has found that there might be personal information that has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person/institution, whose identity is currently still unknown.

“The consequences of the breach is the selling of the personal information and its use for unlawful purposes,” Mashabane said.

The Director-General said that those who may have used the department’s services are requested to:

• Review their financial accounts and bank statements;
• Keep an eye on bank notifications in terms of purchases made and
• Inform law enforcement for any suspected or actual act of identity theft occurs.

Mashabane said the department had introduced measures to prevent a similar attack and strengthen its IT security, including:

• Enhancing access control measures;
• Upgrading of IT defensives measures and
• Upgrading of anti-virus and anti-malware software.

“The department will ensure that [all those who may be affected] are kept up to date with regard to further investigations of the nature of the personal information that was compromised,” Mashabane said.

The Special Tribunal has ordered that suspended Eskom senior manager for Coal Operations, Petrus Mazibuko, pay back at least R11 million to the state after it was found that his company indirectly benefitted from a coal transportation contract from the power utility.

This follows civil proceedings initiated against Mazibuko and his brother, Shadrack, at the tribunal by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

The tribunal found that Mazibuko improperly benefitted from contracts awarded to a company with links to a business ran by himself and his brother.

“Judge Thina Siwendu found that Petrus Mazibuko did not declare his business interests in terms of the Eskom Conflict of Interest Policy and had no permission to do the work. He acted, by failing to disclose, in a way that compromised the credibility and integrity of Eskom’s supply chain processes,” the tribunal said.

The judgement also found that the Mazibuko’s company, Thephunokheja, “concluded a joint venture agreement with Commodity Logistix Managers Africa (CLM)” to supply and transport the coal just months before the Eskom contracts were awarded to CLM.

Shortly after the contract was awarded, at least R11 million flowed from CLM to Mazibuko’s Thephunokheja.

The suspended Eskom senior manager had also failed to disclose the close ties he had to CLM.

“However…they had no experience no expertise in the coal business. Mazibuko’s conduct was found to be an unauthorized gratification and in violation of Section 3 of the Prevention and Combating of the Corrupt Activities Act  of 204 and section 4 of the Prevention of Organized Crime of 1998,” the tribunal said.

The Tribunal also found that the conduct of the Mazibuko brothers was against the law.

“Petrus and Shadrack Mazibuko as well as Thephunokheja accepted gratification, acted dishonestly, unauthorized, misused and sold information to advance their financial interests and that they knowingly embarked on the unlawful activities,” the judgement found.

Police in Gauteng have vowed to intensify weekend operations aimed at reducing the levels of crime and enforcing lockdown regulations in the province.

This comes after operations over the weekend saw the arrest of more than 960 suspects. Among them were 85 suspects arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

In a statement, Gauteng SAPS said Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela and Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, at the weekend led Operation O Kae Molao in Hammanskraal and Temba in Tshwane.

Provincial SAPS spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo, said more than 300 suspects were arrested for crimes ranging from the Contravention of Disaster Management Act, car hijacking, attempted murder, robbery, dealing in liquor without licence, driving while under the influence of alcohol and malicious damage to property.

Meanwhile, 259 were nabbed by the police in Ekurhuleni District for crimes such as theft, murder, possession of drugs, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, possession of suspected stolen goods and driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Police in the West Rand and Johannesburg Districts arrested 240 suspects for crimes ranging from murder, possession of drugs, Contravention of Disaster Management Act, fraud, possession of unlicensed firearm and driving while under the influence of alcohol.

More than 167 suspects were arrested in the Sedibeng District for crimes that include rape, murder, and possession of suspected stolen goods, contempt of court, house breaking and theft.

All arrested suspects will appear before the different Magistrates’ Courts in Gauteng in due course.

Police have warned those who continue to contravene the Disaster Management Act, that the law will deal with them decisively.

“Police in Gauteng will continue to enforce the level one lockdown regulations, while balancing it with crime combating,” said Masondo.

Meanwhile, Mawela has welcomed the recovery of 78 unlicensed firearms of varying calibre and 102 rounds of ammunition in the province last week.

Masondo said the firearms were recovered as a result of police initiated operations such as stop and searches, crime combating, suspects tracing and also following up on tip-offs from the community.

“Four unlicensed firearms were recovered and four suspects arrested after police foiled an armed robbery in Cosmo City, Honeydew – Johannesburg on Thursday 30 September 2021.

“Police received information about suspects that were planning to rob a chain store in Cosmo City. Information was operationalised and police from the Honeydew Reaction Team spotted the vehicle that matched the description given. They pounced on the vehicle and found two suspects with two firearms.

“Police proceeded to a safe house and two more suspects were arrested after they were found with two unlicensed firearms.”

On Friday, police recovered three firearms as they were pursuing a suspect believed to be behind the killing of people in Bekkersdal and West Rand recently. Information was received about the whereabouts of the suspect.

“A search operation consisting of members from Crime Intelligence, West Rand K9 and Highway Patrol Unit was launched and they proceeded to Leratong Taxi Rank in Kagiso where the suspect was located. When the suspect saw the police he started running away towards the open veld and police gave chase. The suspect fired shots towards the police whilst running. He dropped the firearm on the ground and proceeded running into the river. Police went to search his premises and found two more unlicensed firearms.”

In Kameeldrift, in Tshwane, Police on Thursday arrested four suspects who were found in possession of three unlicensed firearms, a vehicle reported to be hijacked and a vehicle taken from a house robbery.

Masondo said through police’s crime Intelligence, information was received about a gang that is involved in vehicle hijackings and house robberies in Pretoria area.

“A team consisting of Highway Patrol, Tracker Connect and the Hawks launched an operation to search for the suspects. The suspect’s vehicle, a Mazda CX-5 with four suspects was stopped in Kameeldrift. Upon searching the car and occupants, police found three unlicensed firearms.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the car was reportedly hijacked. Further investigation led the police to Pretoria, where police found a Chev Cruze that was taken during a house robbery in Pretoria. All four suspects were arrested for possession of unlicensed firearms, possession of hijacked vehicles and possession of stolen vehicle.”

The firearms have been sent to Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic tests to establish if they were used in any other crimes.

Mawela expressed delight at how police dealt with the proliferation of illegal firearms in the province.

“These are the firearms that are used to commit serious and violent crimes in our province and I am happy that our members are working hard to recover them. I believe that we have saved the lives of innocent people that would have been killed by criminals using these firearms. Ballistic tests results will help us link these suspects to other crimes committed in our province.”

Former Ngqushwa Local Municipal Manager, Misiwe Phyllis Mpahlwa (54), and her co-accused have been  each released on R1000 bail  after they were arrested on allegations of fraud and corruption.

Mpahlwa, the municipality’s director of corporate services Mkhuseli Wiseman Mxekezo as well as former acting Chief Financial Officer, Tinus Matthysen (66), were last week arrested by the East London based Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team for allegations of fraud, corruption and contravention of Municipal Financial Management Act (MFMA).

They were released on bail on Friday.

Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said it was alleged that Mxekezo deliberately or negligently created irregular expenditure by signing a memorandum dated 11 December 2019 for an event that would be held on the 12 December 2019 without procurement processes being followed. The expenditure was an amount of more than R273 000 for a Christmas event for the elderly people of the Peddie community.

She said: “It is further alleged that Matthysen failed to prevent the irregular, unauthorised fruitless and wasteful expenditure by approving payments to service providers without necessary documentation while he was on leave. Matthysen is reported to have been complying with the instruction for him to effect the payment by the municipal manager at the time, Misiwe Mpahlwa.”

Mgolodela said the arrest of the trio was subsequent to the arrest of Busisiwe Mfunda (34) on 29 July 2021. She also appeared before the Peddie Magistrates’ Court on the same day and was released on R1000 bail.

Mfunda was alleged to have signed a memorandum as an applicant requesting for procurement of goods and services for the said Christmas event.

“It is further alleged that after approval, she went on to source the quotations from various fictitious service providers for her personal enrichment by bypassing the supply chain office,” she said.

Mfunda will thus be joining her co-accused at the same court on 6 October 2021 pending further investigations.