By OBAKENG MAJE

Three suspects aged 50, 55 and 61, were arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) in the Northern Cape on 6 March 2024. The Hawks spokesperson in Northern Cape, Lieutenant Col Tebogo Thebe said, the suspects are accused of contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), fraud and money laundering.

Thebe said two suspects who are senior employees at the Northern Cape Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, were allegedly rounded off, while the third  suspect (61), who is a former senior employee at the same department, handed herself over this morning.

“She was processed for court appearance. The arrests are related to allegations of contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), fraud and money laundering. This comes after the department made an irregular payment to a certain service provider, without any services being rendered to the department.

“The payment was allegedly meant for the Umsombovu Youth Festival, that was scheduled to take place in Colesberg in December 2016. The festival never took place and the department suffered a loss of R1 million rand,” he said.

Thebe further said the other accused on the matter, a company (juristic person) and its director, were previously charged and the charges are to be reinstated.

He added that, all the accused are expected to make a brief court appearance before Kimberley Magistrate’s Court on 6 March 2024.

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