Two former Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) students were sentenced to six years imprisonment for corruption in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Friday.

The two were Emmanuel Ramalata (30) and Mpho Lesiba Kekana (35).

A third co-accused, Nematshema Thanzielo (30) was also sentenced.

NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana explained that at the time of the incident, in 2016, only Ramalata and Thanzielo were registered students at the university.

Kekana, however, was unable to register due to outstanding fees.

“Early in the year of 2016, Ramalata and Thanzielo approached the now deceased security manager Herman Thyssen and introduced themselves as student leaders,” she said.

“They told him they have an influence on which security company can be appointed or removed.”

Mahanjana said the pair further told Thyssen that they could make it possible for his company to continue working with the university, if he wanted it.

“Thyssen informed them that he did not have the power to make such arrangements, but will arrange a meeting between them and his supervisor,” she said.

The supervisor then reported the matter to the police and they subsequently set up an operation.

As part of the operation, a police official pretended to be the supervisor and met with Ramalata and Thanzielo.

During the meeting, the pair made the same request they made to Thyssen.

“They said they needed an amount of R40 000 to ensure that the contract was renewed,” Mahanjana said.

Arrangements were then made to finalise the deal and make the cash handover on November 15, 2016.

On the day, the undercover police official met with Ramalata, Thanzielo and Kekana at Hotel 224 and the amount of R40 000 was handed over to them.

The trio then shared the money between them.

“As soon as they left the hotel, they were arrested and the money was recovered,” she said.

Mahanjana further said they welcomed the sentence and were thankful to all of their partners for their dedication.