Digital Vibes scandal: 5-year sentence handed down

The first conviction in the Digital Vibes corruption scandal was made last week, with Lizeka Tonjeni sentenced to five years imprisonment.

Tonjeni, a former official at the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (Misa), was convicted because of R160 000 paid to her by Tahera Mather, a former journalist from KwaDukuza who was closely associated with the controversial Digital Vibes communications company.

Digital Vibes had been awarded a communications tender from Misa worth R3.9m in 2018 for which Tonjeni was project manager. Between 2018 and 2020, she received 18 payments from Mather which totalled R160 000.

Following an investigation by the Hawks Serious Corruption Offences unit, Tonjeni handed herself over to police in May 2022. She pleaded not guilty to the corruption charge, claiming that the money had instead been paid for health products that she had sold to Mather. But Misa employees testified against Tonjeni, producing evidence of her guilt.

During sentencing proceedings, Tonjeni asked to avoid jail time as she has a minor child, but the state pursued direct imprisonment.

When handing down the sentence, Magistrate N Setshoge said the case was indicative of widespread corruption in parastatals and procurement across the country.

The magistrate said that Tonjeni had ‘committed the offence to feed her greed’ and that the mitigating factors were overwhelmed by the aggravating factors.

“The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence and wants to send a strong message that corrupt officials know that impunity is no longer a given and that dreaded knock on the door has become a realistic prospect,” said NPA spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana.

Digital Vibes gained national attention in 2021 after the Daily Maverick exposed a dodgy R150m Covid-19 and NHI communications contract awarded to the company.

Former health minister Zweli Mkhize resigned in 2021 amid allegations that he and his family had benefitted improperly from the contract.

Although Mkhize was later cleared of contravening its code of ethics by Parliament, questions persist about the lack of accountability for others implicated in the Special Investigating Unit report.