MPUMALANGA – A member of the eMalahleni Local Municipality’s Mayoral Committee, a former ward councillor and a member of the cooperative will appear before the Witbank Magistrate’s Court today (Thursday) following their arrest by the Hawks on Wednesday afternoon.
The trio, aged 39, 44 and 49 years are facing charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to R1.6 million. It is alleged that in 2013 the suspects embezzled money form the cooperative and that they allegedly kept money for themselves which they received from farmers who were hiring the farms from the cooperative.
The Hawks are hot on the heels of the fourth suspect whose arrest is imminent. The National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation Lieutenant General Mthandazo Ntlemeza said corruption and all sorts of crimes will not be tolerated at the municipalities and other spheres of government and the private sector. “We said it before that our claws are out for all suspected corrupt officials. Our investigations have spread all over the country and no corrupt official will be spared. We shall not rest until the citizens of this country are serviced by law-abiding officials”, said Lieutenant General Ntlemeza.
