City contractors sentenced for corruption

MBOMBELA - The Nelspruit Regional Court recently convicted Dino Siboza (43) and his two accomplices, Ernest Mamba (33) and Nkate Ngcobo (32), to 10 years’ imprisonment each, for corruption and extortion.

A press statement by the provincial National Prosecuting Authority’s Monica Nyuswa said Mamba and Siboza had been employed by a company contracted to the City of Mbombela to execute the duties of reading meter boxes.

“In December 2018, one of the accused went to a resident’s house to inspect a meter box and found that it had been tampered with. The accused then instructed the resident to pay

R2 000 to avoid being reported to the municipality,” said Nyuswa.

“It appeared that the first amount was not enough, as they then demanded two other payments, ranging from R3 000 to R15 000, respectively, but the resident paid only R3 000.”

She said when the resident realised there would be no end to the demands for money, he went to the police to report the matter.

”Thereafter, an undercover operation was set up in terms of Section 252A of the Criminal Procedure Act. Siboza and Mamba contacted the resident and agreed to meet him at Nelspruit McDonald’s.

“Upon their arrival, they were given three envelopes containing R5 000 per envelope. After the meeting, the police approached them and they were subsequently arrested.”

She said the trio pleaded not guilty, and the state, represented by Prosecutor Lazarus Rabothata, led viva voce evidence (oral testimony by a witness) and handed in the application for entrapment, copies of the monies used for the trap, video footage and statements.

The resident also presented a bank statement, showing that the money was paid to the accused, as well as WhatsApp messages from the accused giving banking details. The court found the trio guilty as charged, and sentenced them accordingly.

“During sentencing, Rabothata submitted a victim impact statement, prepared by a manager of the City of Mbombela, whereby it was proven that for the 2018/19 year, the audit revealed that due to corrupt activities, the municipality suffered financial damage of more than R120 000,” said Nyuswa.

The Director of Public Prosecutions’ advocate, Nkebe Kanyane, applauded the prosecutor and members of the police for ensuring this corruption was rooted out.