Three Mpumalanga cops in court for allegedly taking bribes

Three law-enforcement officers from eMalahleni Municipality in Mpumalanga were arrested on Monday morning for corruption relating to allegations that they extorted bribes from motorists.

The three are Gubhela Victor Mkize, 59, Johannes Vivian Tlou, 53, and Xolani Arnold Nkosi, 38.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said the suspects were arrested during a sting operation conducted by members of the Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation Unit together with the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).

The suspects appeared in the eMalahleni Magistrate’s Court on Monday and were released on R2000 bail each, said Sekgotodi.

She said the case was postponed to 10 March 2021 for further investigation.

“It is alleged that complaints were received from motorists about law enforcements officers of eMalahleni Municipality who were demanding [money] for not giving traffic offenders fines after traffic violations. It is further alleged that every time when the suspects are on duty, they do the same thing.

“An intelligence driven investigation was initiated in 2019, targeting the same perpetrators. In January 2020, an undercover operation was conducted by the team and the same suspects received gratuity for not issuing traffic fines for traffic violations during the operation,” said Sekgotodi.

Sekgotodi said after finalisation of the investigation, the suspects were arrested in the early hours on Monday while reporting for duty.

News24 Wire

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