Govt officials arrested after R6.7 million worth of diamonds goes missing

Hawks in the Northern Cape have apprehended four government officials for suspected theft of diamonds. The arrests happened on Wednesday 22 September. The uncut diamonds disappeared from a locked safe, but no signs of forced entry were discovered.

SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ARRESTED

The arrested government officials are seniors in the Northern Cape Department of Finance, Economic Development, and Tourism. They include a Head of Department, Chief Financial Officer, and a Chief Director.

HOD Patrick Seboko, 66, chief financial officer (CFO) Kuberin Packirisamy, 60, senior project team manager Tebogo Basil Gaborone, 46, and chief director of trade and sector development Lizette Wyngaard, 56, – faced the suspected theft charge at the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court for contravening the Diamond Act as well as the Public Finance Management Act.

Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Philani Nkwalase said the court has to wait for Thursday 23 September to decide on a possible bail allowance for the government officials.

“The case had to be rolled over until Thursday as an application was brought forward by the media to record the live court proceedings. The defence objected to the application and there was not enough time to finalise the bail applications on Wednesday,” Nkwalase told DFA.

THE R6.7 MILLION WORTH OF DIAMONDS WERE STOLEN FROM A SAFE

The diamonds were bought with donation funds from the European Union in 2011, before arriving at the Kimberley Diamond International Jewellery Academy (Kidja), where artisan trainees received cutting training.

The government officials became suspects after the diamonds went missing from a safe, which later showed no evidence of forced entry.

“It was established that the diamonds were missing and unaccounted for in July 2012. This was uncovered during a random inspection by the auditor-general,” Nkwalase said.

“The Hawks’ investigation into the diamonds saga resulted in the arrest of four senior officials from the Northern Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism,” said Nkwalase.

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