Mr Msiza appeared in the Middelburg Regional Court on Monday, where he faced four counts of theft, four counts of contravening the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, one count of fraud and one count of uttering.

The court found him not guilty of theft charges.

He received three years imprisonment on each count of contravening the ECT Act, with one year suspended for five years on the condition that he is not found guilty of the same offence in that time.

He was also sentenced to two years behind bars for fraud and one year for uttering, with the court ordering that the last two sentences run concurrently.

Do you have a news lead?

Contact our editorial office on 013 243 1434, send an email to our newsroom or contact our standby number 072 248 3855 to share your story with us. Follow us on the Middelburg Observer Facebook page or join our WhatsApp group for the latest news.

Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news

Dear reader,

As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online.

Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol.

A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).