Top officials in court on fraud charges

FIVE senior officials from the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development were released on bail after appearing in the Bloemfontein Regional Court on charges of fraud and money laundering, the National Prosecuting Authority said.

Lerato Mngomezulu, 39, Disebo Masiteng, 59, Mokemane Ndumo, 52, Mahlomola Mofokeng, 55, and Mbane Thabethe, 54, were released on R10 000 bail each in a case in which they are accused of allegedly defrauding the state of more than R245 million.

“It was discovered during the financial flow analysis exercise of the bank accounts in the Estina matter that there were irregularities and disguised payments to one of the officials,” the NPA’s Sipho Ngwema said, referring to a separate corruption scandal in which money meant to help black emerging farmers in the Free State was misappropriated.

The officials allegedly awarded several contracts to a company called Superior Quality Trading, which had certificates of attendance even though its officials did not attend the necessary tender briefing meetings.

The Department of Agriculture is said to have paid Superior Quality Trading, also known as Rekgonne Community Projects, more than R756m. Furthermore, the company’s director, Lenah Mohapi, allegedly paid “huge sums of money” into the account of the department’s chief financial officer, Seipati Dlamini.

These payments were disguised as a refund to Telkom and payment for medical services rendered.

Both Dlamini and Mohapi were arrested in July by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks.

Dlamini, Mohapi and Superior Quality Trading appeared in court on charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering and were released on R10 000 bail.

The case was postponed to September 10 in the high court.

The five Free State agriculture department officials, together with Dlamini, Mohapi and Superior Quality Trading, will collectively face 58 counts of forgery, fraud and corruption.