Cases struck off the roll: Hawks serves summonses
The 15 accused of fraud and corruption at the Mogalakwena Municipality, have been served with summonses after their 104 cases were struck off the roll earlier this week.
LIMPOPO – The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks) have started to serve 15 people and 13 juristic persons (companies) with summonses to appear in court in relation to corruption and fraud at the Mogalakwena Municipality.
On Monday (August 31) a take-down operation saw an initial 13 suspects handcuffed by members of the Hawks. Later that afternoon, two more suspects were arrested as well as two more juristic persons (companies). The operation commenced after allegations of corruption and tender fraud to the amount of R15m.
Read more: Another two Mogalakwena Municipality officials arrested
The accused made their first appearance on Wednesday (September 1) as residents and members of various organisations picketed outside the Mokopane Magistrate’s Court.
The accused appeared on 104 charges of corruption, money laundering and conspiracy to corruption, but the case was struck off the roll as they were arrested without a proper warrant of arrest issued. The legal representatives argued that the state failed to comply with the law when the arrests were made. The case has been under investigation since 2017.
Also read: [WATCH] Arrested Mogalakwena officials, company directors in court
The magistrate stated that the court agrees that arresting someone without a warrant requires a reasonable explanation. “To phone an accused and instruct them to meet you at the municipality is not a reasonable explanation. You cannot arrest a person who willingly makes themselves available. You can only arrest someone without a warrant of arrest if it is the only option. After taking all the facts and arguments into consideration the court finds that the state was unreasonable. The court found that the suspects were correct to say they were not treated in a proper manner and therefore the court struck the matter off the roll.”
Hawks Limpopo spokesperson Capt Matimba Maluleke when asked on Wednesday (September 1) said no wrongful arrests were made. “There was no wrong arrest. We will comply with what the court has said.”
Anticipation grew as various role-players waited to see what steps the Hawks would take in the matter.
“The summonses are one of the methods of securing the attendance of an accused person in court. We would like to assure the public that despite what happened in court on Wednesday, the charges against the suspects still stand. The suspects will be expected to appear before the same court on September 27,” Maluleke said in a statement today (September 3).
The accused include former senior officials from the municipality, company directors and a wife to one of the former senior municipal officials. “They were initially arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation in terms of Section 40(1)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.”
