A former employee in the Department of Public Works in Ladysmith, Sizani Nxele (37), was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday (March 29).
Nxele colluded with the owner of a company to defraud the Department of Public Works to the tune of R620,000 by awarding three contracts to the company. They claimed that the company did some repairs at schools.
The Department of Treasury conducted an investigation and discovered that no work was done by the said company.
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A case of fraud was reported at Ladysmith police station and the case docket was allocated to Hawks officers from Pietermaritzburg Serious Commercial Crime Investigation.
After an intensive investigation, the two were charged with fraud and appeared in court several times until Nxele pleaded guilty. She was sentenced to five years’ direct imprisonment.
The company owner will appear in the same court on May 5, 2021, for his trial.
