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A former Mpumalanga municipal manager has been released on bail following his arrest this week in connection to fraud.
On Friday, Muzi Daniel Ngwenya, who worked at the Nkomazi Local Municipality in Malelane, appeared in the Tonga Magistrates’ Court where he was granted R10 000 bail.
Ngwenya is facing charges of fraud, theft and contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
The 55-year-old was arrested on Friday following an investigation that was carried by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as Hawks.
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According to Hawks, Ngwenya bought a pre-owned Mercedes Benz from a vehicle dealership in Bedfordview, Johannesburg in December 2021.
The suspect used the municipality’s money to purchase the vehicle.
“He reportedly registered the vehicle on his name, prejudicing the municipality an actual loss of R900 000,” Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the case against Ngwenya has been postponed to 25 January 2023 for further investigation.
In a separate case, a Maluti-A-Phofung municipal manager was released on bail of R500 000 in August this year after he arrested for fraud, corruption and contravention of the MFMA.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) alleges that Futhuli Patrick Motamaha awarded a contract of R58 million to Kill Crime Security Company in 2020 without following proper procurement processes.
“Mothamaha allegedly signed a service level agreement on 19 May 2020, appointing Kill Crime Security to render security services to the Maluti-A-Phofung municipality for a period of three months without following procurement processes.
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“The municipality continued to pay Kill Crime Security Company for almost two years without a contract,” said NPA Free State spokesperson, Phaladi Shuping.
Part of the 49-year-old’s bail conditions was that he must not enter the offices of the Maluti-A-Phofung municipality, not interfere with the investigations or intimidate witnesses.
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