POLOKWANE – The corruption probe into the affairs of the Polokwane Municipality will continue despite a key segment of the broader investigation being struck off the Limpopo High Court roll in the city on Tuesday due to interlocutory issues.

This assurance came from the head of the Hawks in Limpopo, Maj Genl (Adv) Gopz Govender, who spoke to Polokwane Observer shortly after Judge Jane Ngobeni ruled that the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) was not positioned to proceed with an urgent application compelling the municipality to hand over its gift register.

The register was to be examined for potential irregularities involving Mayor John Mpe and his Makoro Foundation.

Read more: Court strikes Hawks’ Polokwane gift register bid

Ngobeni ruled it fair to allow all legal respondents, including legal representatives of Mpe, his foundation, the municipality and municipal manager Thuso Nemugumoni, to first finalise a related interlocutory application also before the court.

The Hawks have since indicated their intention to re-enrol the urgent application within the next month, anticipating that the other matter will have been resolved by then.

This development comes in the wake of explosive claims circulating on social media, alleging that over R700m in municipal tenders were irregularly awarded to relatives and associates of Mpe and Nemugumoni.

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The municipal manager also faces allegations of awarding a R56m tender to a Zimbabwean national with which she reportedly has close ties.

Mpe, while conceding the foreign-owned company had likely been paid through a joint venture with a local entity, in recent weeks denied any wrongdoing.

As speculation intensifies, the municipality’s leadership has dismissed the allegations as a political witch-hunt aimed at undermining Mpe’s leadership and the foundation’s achievements.

Govender, however, stressed that the Hawks’ investigation is impartial and driven by evidence, and not public opinion or political pressure.

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“Our investigation is not about targeting individuals or being influenced by public commentary. What goes to court is not information or intelligence, but evidence, and we are confident in the evidence we’ve gathered,” he stated.

Mpe did not respond to Polokwane Observer’s request for comment by the time of publication.