Africa-Press – South-Africa. Cash, a Polo Vivo and a bottle of 15-year-old whisky are among some of the items attached to a preservation order in a case in which a police officer was allegedly offered a R200 000 bribe to make a docket disappear while they were investigating municipal corruption.
The North West High Court in Mmabatho granted the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) the preservation order on Thursday.
The order pertains to an incident on 23 October 2022, when two people were arrested by the Serious Corruption Investigation Unit in Klerksdorp.
They allegedly tried to bribe a police officer investigating a corruption case in Rustenburg.
The case centred on the irregular appointment of service providers by the Rustenburg Local Municipality.
It involved alleged fraudulent activities by the supply chain manager and employees of the municipality.
North West NPA spokesperson Henry Mamothame said two suspects offered the police officer R200 000 to destroy the police docket.
“At the time of their arrest, they handed an amount of R25 000 and a 15-year-old [bottle of] whisky to [the officer]. A further amount of R41 400 was discovered inside the Polo Vivo and the suspects could not account for it.”
The court agreed with the prosecution that the money was part of the intended bribe, said Mamothame.
“Further, the vehicle was used by the suspects as an instrument to facilitate the offence of corruption by travelling with it from Sandton [in Johannesburg] to Klerksdorp to corrupt the police officer at their own offices, to act against their mandate to the detriment of the administration of justice and to make a mockery of the entire criminal justice system,” said Mamothame.
The matter is expected back in court on 10 July for pre-trial conferencing.
In an unrelated matter, the North West High Court granted a second preservation order in a case involving stock theft.
A Toyota Land Cruiser, Isuzu bakkie, Hino truck and two trailers allegedly used to commit stock theft last year were subjected to the preservation order.
Mamothame said it relates to a matter that occurred on 10 November 2022, where police arrested seven people in Ottoshoop after they were found in possession of stolen cattle that belonged to Piet Tlhabanyane, a local pastor and farmer.
“At the time of the arrest, the Toyota Land Cruiser was pulling a trailer that was loaded with nine of Tlhabanyane’s Bonsmara cattle.
“The Hino truck was loaded with about 18 Bonsmara cattle that also belonged to Tlhabanyane.
“The suspects alleged that they had bought the cattle from their lawful owner, but Tlhabanyane, who subsequently arrived at the crime scene, denied having sold his livestock to the suspects.
“The High Court agreed with counsel for the National Director of Public Prosecutions that the sole purpose of the use of the property was to facilitate the commission of an offence, to leave the crime scene without a trace and to evade arrest by the police, lawful owners and community forums.
“The matter is back in court on 11 August 2023 for further investigations and a regional court transfer,” said Mamothame.
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