Two Gauteng traffic officers in court for bribery

Two Gauteng traffic police officers are set to make an appearance before the Temba magistrate court on Monday, 26 October 2020, for allegedly accepting a bribe.

The officers were handcuffed by the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit as well as the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the Hawks, on Friday, 23 October, for allegedly demanding R5 000 in exchange for the release of a truck.

According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), the duo is alleged to have stopped a truck on the R101 on Tuesday, 20 October, for unspecified reasons.

The driver of the truck allegedly agreed and an arrangement was subsequently made for the money to be delivered to the suspects at Makapanstad traffic offices.

“The suspects were arrested soon after receiving the money and have been held at Makapanstad police station. They are scheduled to appear at the Temba Magistrate Court on Monday,”

RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane

Mpumalanga clerks found guilty of fraud

Meanwhile, two administration clerks at Lekwa Licensing Authority in Standerton, Mpumalanga, have been dismissed following an internal disciplinary hearing that found them guilty of gross dishonesty and fraud.

Sandy Freddah Manana and Llody Mildred Townsend were dismissed for misrepresenting information on the eNatis system by unlawfully changing the particulars of a vehicle owner to a bogus dealership, to evade payment of full licensing fees that were due to the licensing authority.

Zwane said the State lost an estimated R4 million in revenue from these transactions.

“It is, however, believed that fraud and corruption at Lekwa Licensing Authority cost the State more than R50 million in unpaid fees and penalties,” Zwane said.

Manana and Townsend are still on trial at the Middelburg Magistrate Court on similar charges.

“They are part of eight officials who were arrested at the licensing authority in August last year. They are expected to appear in court on 11 December 2020,” Zwane said.