Pretoria – The Head of Department of the Free State’s Cooperative
Governance and Traditional Affairs Mokete Victor Duma (46) and his
co-accused, Samuel Shabalala (41) have been released on R5 000 bail
each by the Kroonstad Magistrate’s Court where they appeared on
Tuesday, following their arrest the same day.
The two face 127 charges, with the main one being fraud, and others
relating to the contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
Duma, who was the municipal manager of the Moqhaka Municipality in
Kroonstad, and Shabalala, the service provider to the municipality when
the fraud was committed, allegedly defrauded the municipality for R11
million through various misrepresentation.
Shabalala promised to build an airport in Kroonstad as well as
underground tunnels but none of those happened. He misrepresented the
facts when he said he has acquired international sponsors to fund all
the projects he had promised, but instead Duma authorised that an
amount totalling R11 million be paid to Shabalala.
The two will be appearing again in the Kroonstad Regional Court on 30
October 2015.
