R4.8m fraud case against OR Tambo municipal boss postponed to February

The R4.8 million fraud case against OR Tambo municipal whippery services manager Phumzile Johnson Gwadiso and businesswoman Phumza Poshee Gambula has been postponed to 15 February.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, said the postponement was to allow the State to furnish the defence with docket contents.

Gwadiso was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Crime Investigation team on 27 November, with Gambula arrested on 22 October.

The Hawks previously said an investigation, conducted in partnership with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), revealed that Gambula allegedly submitted fraudulent documents to various municipalities.

She allegedly claimed to have conducted door-to-door awareness campaigns for the prevention and containment of Covid-19 to the rural communities of Port St Johns, King Sabatha Dalindyebo and Mhlonto local municipalities.

It was also alleged that, after further investigation, Gwadiso was revealed to have worked in cahoots with Gambula.

According to the Hawks, Gwadiso allegedly signed off invoices for the payments, confirming that the campaign took place.

This enabled the payments to be processed to the supplier.

Both Gwadiso and Gambula are currently out on bail – of R50,000 and R20,000 respectively.

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