Hawks arrest SDM’s executive mayor and accomplice

Sekhukhune District Municipality’s (SDM) executive mayor, Julia Mathebe (51), and former municipal manager (MM) of Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality (EMLM), Minah Maredi, were granted R30 000 bail each when they appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court yesterday, November 23.

They appeared on charges of corruption, money laundering and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Banks Act.

They were arrested by the Hawks on Wednesday morning in Groblersdal as a result of an ongoing investigation into the VBS Mutual Bank investments conducted by some municipalities.

In 2019, while Mathebe was mayor of EMLM and Maredi the MM, the municipality invested R190m with VBS.

“Maredi is said to have been instrumental in investing R190m municipal funds into VBS, wherein Mathebe received over R300 000 in gratification, which included cash, accommodation and flight tickets. These were channelled through a company belonging to her children,” said Gauteng Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale.

The SDM’s spokesperson, Khomotso Ndlovu, said, “The SDM notes the developments surrounding the executive mayor Mathebe in respect of securing her appearance in court. As a responsible organ of the state, we wish not to comment further as the matter is sub judice.”

The Bolsheviks Party of South Africa’s leader, Seun Mogotji, said they were delighted and welcomed Maredi and Mathebe’s arrests.

“We believe Maredi was paid out for her silence when she received a golden handshake running into over R2m as part of her settlement. We hope she will spill the beans and tell the whole truth to the Hawks.
“We feel vindicated that despite their vehement denials of any wrongdoings, the law enforcement agencies never lost focus. This arrest may be the turning point in rooting out corruption in our municipalities. We applaud this arrest and hope that justice will finally be served.”

The cases were postponed to March 2 for further investigations.