Father and son arrested for allegedly trying to bribe SASSA official

Two suspects aged 70 and 40 made their first court appearance in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Friday, April 26 facing charges of corruption and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

The two suspects, Gerhard (Gert) Myburrgh (70) and his son Gerhard Myburgh (40) were arrested in Roodepoort on April 24 for allegedly bribing a South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) official to register elderly people for social grants outside the normal procedure.

According to Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale, a whistleblower allegedly alerted the Hawks of the suspects’ intention. The two allegedly approached the official with the proposal of working together to register the elderly social grants in the agency.

“The first batch of 15 applicants was handed to the employee with a R15 000 payment to process the applications outside normal procedures. Subsequently, the second batch of 20 applications rounded off to R23 150, which was handed over on Thursday and both suspects were arrested at SASSA offices in Roodepoort,” Mogale said.

Upon searching their vehicle, an unlicensed firearm and ammunition added an additional charge to the severity of the case. Both suspects were charged with corruption and one was charged with being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

During their first appearance, magistrate Charl van Niekerk placed the accused under house arrest. They will be limited to going to work and church. They will be required to go to their allocated police stations every Tuesday and Saturday.

The case was postponed to June 18 for further investigations.