Hawks officer and court official in the dock for corruption

The case against two Limpopo government employees, a court official and Hawks officer accused of soliciting a bribe from an accused to make her case “disappear” has been postponed.

Morongwa Joyce Thobejane,53, a stenographer at the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court, and Warrant Officer Matladi Jeridah Chokoe, 45, who is attached to Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), appeared in the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday.

Arrest

They were arrested in October and are facing charges of corruption and defeating the ends of justice.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in Limpopo, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, said their arrest follow an intensive investigation that began in February 2020.

“The allegations stem from a January 2020 case in which the complainant was a suspect in a conspiracy to commit murder. It is alleged that Thobejane and Chokoe met with the complainant and offered to make the case “disappear” in exchange for payment. The complainant initially paid R1,000 to the accused, who later demanded an additional R20,000.”

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Investigation

Malabi-Dzhangi said the complainant reported the matter to the authorities, prompting an investigation that led to the arrest of the accused.

“The complainant was subsequently convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to pay a fine of R10,000 or serve six months in prison. The case against the accused has been postponed to 30 January 2025 for a pre-trial conference. Both are currently out on bail of R2,000 each.”

Foreign nationals in court

In a separate matter, the NPA said it will oppose the bail application of five Zimbabwean nationals arrested for allegedly uprooting cycad plants worth more than R1.4 million.

The case is set to continue in the Kariega Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape for a formal bail application on 25 November.

The five accused, identified as Khaya Moyo, 42, Ngqobutho Ngulube, 33, Godfrey Makhohdo, 44, Oalabahle Ndlovu, 23, and Mnqobi Sibanda, 34,  have been charged with contravention of the National Biodiversity Act for the illegal uprooting of protected cycad species, trespassing and immigration-related offences.

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