LIMPOPO – The Tzaneen Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 21 May convicted a 57-year-old former police officer for corruption.
The accused, Warrant Officer Nilos Butifana Maholobela who was a detective at the Dobsonville Police Station, was found guilty for corruption after he pinned a culpable homicide case on a cop who had pulled him over for not adhering to the road rules.
Spokesperson for the Hawks, Capt Matimba Maluleke explained that Maholobela was caught by a traffic official when driving his private vehicle in Tzaneen area without his seat belt fastened.
A summons was issued against the accused for contravening the National Road Traffic Act.
He added that instead of paying a fine, Maholobela retaliated and pinned a case of culpable homicide he was investigating on the female traffic official who issued the summons against him. “He also demanded R10 000 gratification in order to make the docket disappear,” Maluleke said.
The matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation who conducted a thorough investigation into both incidents.
“The investigation proved that the culpable homicide case had nothing to do with the traffic official as she was on duty in Tzaneen when the incident occurred in Dobsonville. The accused was arrested shortly after.”
Maholobela is expected back in court on 4 June for sentencing.
