DURBAN - A former municipal manager arrested for fraud allegedly committed 12 years ago was expected to appear again on Tuesday in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court.
Sipho Manqele, 61, a former manager of uMhlabuyalingana Municipality, faces two counts of fraud relating to an incident dating back to 2010.
Manqele allegedly submitted fraudulent payment certificates to the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs for services that were either incomplete or not rendered at all.
This was according to Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo, who said more arrests were imminent.
“The first service provider was paid R292 500 for the work that was incomplete and the second one was paid R794 866 for the services that were not rendered. As a result, the department suffered an actual loss of R1 087 366.”
A case of fraud was reported at eManguzi SAPS and the docket was allocated to Hawks members from Durban Serious Commercial Crime Investigation.
Manqele was released on R2 000 bail.
Mhlongo said the case was adjourned to May 3 for a pre-trial conference. He said the Hawks would soon arrest the service providers who allegedly received the payments. Manqele was arrested on Monday and appeared in court the following day.
Opposition parties in the province welcomed the arrest but expressed displeasure at the time taken by police to arrest the suspect.
DA leader Francois Rogers said his party wanted the Hawks to explain why it took them 12 years to arrest the suspect in a matter that appeared to be simple. Rogers said without speedy consequences, the government would not be able to win its fight against crime, arguing that when police took a long time to arrest suspects most of the evidence disappeared.
“There is a serious problem about law enforcement agencies in this country. Police take time to arrest only to find that serious cases get thrown out of court because the National Prosecuting Authority could not argue and convince courts, but otherwise we welcome the arrest and speedy trial,” said Rogers.
EFF provincial chairperson Vusi Khoza echoed the DA, saying arresting a suspect allegedly involved in looting of public resources after 12 years was a serious indictment of law enforcement, adding that the man could have died and taxpayers’ money would have been lost forever. Khoza said the party hoped justice would finally prevail and all the money looted would be recovered.
Mhlongo defended the delay of the arrest, saying the investigation was a process, not an event. He said the Hawks did not arrest and investigate but investigated and then arrested.
Daily News