Former civil servant sentence to 10 years for fraud and money laundering

A former civil servant and deputy director at the Department of Land and Rural Development and two accomplices were sentenced to ten years each in prison for fraud and money laundering on Friday, 20 January 2023.

CIVIL SERVANT SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS FOR FRAUD

The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Nelspruit secured the conviction of three accused through their meticulous investigation.

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The Nelspruit Regional Court sentenced 46-year-old Grace Mokoka, Zenzele Mncwango, and Skhumbuzo Nkosi to ten years each for fraud. Three years were suspended for five years with conditions.

They were also sentenced to three years in prison for money laundering.

The civil servant and her accomplices will each sentenced to serve an effective ten years of imprisonment for fraud and conviction.

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THE DEPARTMENT DEFRAUDED OF ALMOST R3 MILLION

Mokoka fraudulently issued an appointment letter in 2011 to a service provider, Thandi Mndawe of Sadia Trading.

Mndawe did not submit tender documents to render services to the department.

The company received an undue payment of R2 950 000 for services that were never rendered.

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Mokoka later instructed Mndawe and her business partner, 52-year-old Zenzele Mncwango, to make a cash withdrawal followed by a couple of electronic transfers to another company.

Further cash demands were also made by 45-year-old Sikhumbuzo Nkosi, a mentor in the same government department and Mokoka’s husband.

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Mndawe entered into a plea sentence agreement with the state, and she was given a suspended sentence in 2018; she also became a state witness to the case against the trio. 

During the conviction of the suspects, the court granted preservation orders of a double-story house at Kamagugu, seven vehicles, and the convict’s pension funds.

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