South African Police Service (SAPS) Members Arrested for Corruption
Six people, including four high-ranking current and former South African Police Service personnel, have been detained in connection with an R54 million police contract that was awarded in 2016. These arrests have taken place over the past two days.
The six were detained in Durban, Bloemfontein, Pretoria, and at OR Tambo Airport, according to Sindisiwe Seboka, a spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority Investigating Directorate (NPA ID).
“The accused include a former lieutenant general, a serving lieutenant colonel, two major generals from Pretoria and Bloemfontein, and two businessmen from Durban. On September 21, 2022, they are scheduled to appear before the Pretoria Specialized Commercial Crimes Court to answer charges of fraud, corruption, and stealing.
The Investigating Directorate (ID) and IPID [Independent Police Investigative Directorate] secondments assigned to the ID worked together as a team to make the arrests, according to Seboka.
She claimed that the arrests are another another example of the ID’s unwavering commitment to eradicating corruption at all levels.
Regardless of how it expresses itself, she added, “the arrest of these extremely senior and seasoned police officials validates the ID’s determination to dealing with corruption and State capture.”
In the meantime, two illegal immigrants who had been found guilty of at least 11 counts of breaking into houses and being present in the country illegally were given sentences of at least 26 years in jail.
Azara Josea Nyungele, a Mozambican, and Tatenda Tupudza, a Zimbabwean, were found guilty and given sentences in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court. Nyungele received a 20-year term and Tupudza received a six-year sentence.
According to Lumka Mahanjana, regional spokeswoman for the NPA, the break-ins happened over a three-year period.
Six former – current SAPS members arrested for alleged corruption
“The offenses took place between May 2019 and January 2022, during which time they entered into the complainants’ homes while they were fast asleep and stole expensive stuff. On January 27, 2022, they were captured after breaking into a home in Annlin, Sinovolle.
They claimed to have stolen these items to sell to the court. To add insult to injury, the prosecutor, Rabia Ebrahim, informed the court that these offenses are common in the territory under the court’s jurisdiction.
Luxury items were stolen at each instance of home invasion, with a combined loss of more than R10,000. Additionally, the explanations offered for the offenses committed were not justified, Mahanjana stated.
