Limpopo: Yesterday, the Louis Trichardt Regional Court in Limpopo handed down a hefty seven-year sentence to former Detective Constable Tshifhiwa Lawrence Matsedu of Musina for corruption.
The disciplinary hearing committee of the South African Police Service dismissed 28-year-old Matsedu a few months after corruption allegations were levelled against him.
In July 2011, Matsedu solicited a bribe of R1 000,00 from two Zimbabweans who had visited the Musina Police Station to reclaim their scrap metal, which the police had seized. Matsedu threatened them with arrest as he claimed that their travel documents were fraudulent.
The two victims reported their victimisation to the Organised Crime Unit of the Hawks in Musina. A trap was set and Matsedu was arrested minutes after he received the bribe.
The Limpopo Provincial Head of the Hawks Major General Dibero Molatjana, applauded the team for the secured conviction. “We are committed to fighting corruption regardless of who the perpetrator is.
We want to fight crime with clean hands and people like Matsedu have no place in our ranks,” said General Molatjana.
