A 33-year-old woman accused of tender corruption at a Limpopo municipality was on Saturday arrested by provincial members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks).

According to a statement by Hawks Limpopo spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke, the complainant is a businessman who said he applied for a tender to provide road construction machines.

Maluleke says while waiting for the announcement of the tender winner, the complainant received a call from someone who claimed to be from the Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality and requested to meet with him at the municipal offices in Lebowakgomo to discuss the tender he had applied for.

“The meeting was allegedly held with a senior municipal official and the complainant was told his company got the tender but he had to pay a R30 000 gratification. The matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation Unit in Polokwane and an undercover operation was conducted,” his statement reads.

Maluleke says the suspect is a high-ranking official within the municipality. She reportedly met the complainant in her vehicle near a restaurant in the Polokwane CBD, where the money was paid.

“Her attempt to flee from the Hawks was futile as she was chased, cornered and arrested before she could disappear in the streets of Polokwane. The money that she had received, as well as the vehicle that was used during the commission of the alleged offence, were confiscated,” he adds.

She appeared in court today but the outcome was not known by the time of publication.