Ex-municipal manager granted bail for allegedly spending R900k on a Mercedes-Benz

The former municipal manager of the Nkomazi Local Municipality in Malelane has been granted R10 000 bail following his arrest for alleged fraud in connection with the purchase of a Mercedes-Benz.

On Friday, 55-year-old Muzi Daniel Ngwenya was arrested by the Hawks’ serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit and faces charges of fraud, theft and contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act.

The investigation revealed that the accused allegedly used municipal funds to purchase a pre-owned Mercedes-Benz from a car dealership in Bedfordview, Johannesburg in December 2021.

“The arrest followed an investigation which established that during 2021, the suspect bought a pre-owned Mercedes-Benz from a dealership in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, using municipality funds. He reportedly registered the vehicle in his name, causing a R900, 000 loss to the municipality,” said Dineo Sekgothodi, the Hawks spokesperson.  

“He reportedly registered the vehicle in his name, prejudicing the municipality an actual loss of R900 000,” said Sekgothodi.

The former municipal manager appeared before the Tonga Magistrate’s Court on Friday, on the mentioned charges. He was granted R10 000 bail. His next court appearance will be on 25 January 2023. The Case was postponed for further investigation.

In a separate case, a Maluti-A-Phofung municipal manager was released on bail of R500 000 in August this year after he was arrested on charges of fraud, corruption and contravention of the MFMA.

The National Prosecuting Authority alleges Futhuli Patrick Motamaha awarded a contract of R58 million to Kill Crime Security Company in 2020 without following proper procedures.

“Motamaha allegedly signed a service level agreement on 19 May 2020, appointing Kill Crime Security to render security services to the Maluti-A-Phofung municipality for a period of three months without following procurement processes.

“The municipality continued to pay Kill Crime Security Company for almost two years without a contract,” said Phaladi Shuping, the NPA Free State spokesperson.

Source: News24, Times Live, The Citizen, The South African, image from Twitter: @SAPoliceService

Doctor Mahlaule

Doctor Mahlaule previously worked as a Freelance Journalist at Find-it SA where he was responsible for writing news articles and sharing them on social media platforms. Doctor Mahlaule holds a Diploma in Journalism, BA in Communication Science and a BA Honours in Media Studies. Doctor began his journey as a knowledge Management and Communications Intern at Zenex Foundation. He was responsible for support in event management, social media, website maintenance, writing and brand management. On weekends Doctor attends prison ministry and shares the scriptures with inmates at Krugersdorp prison and plays soccer in the afternoon on some weekends. He has a passion for reading and writing and enjoys going out with friends and socialising in his spare time. He has a one-year-old son and is planning on getting married soon. When asked about what keeps him going, he said: “My family keeps me going. I’m the man I am because I come from a loving home. I have a very supportive family who always encourages me to keep pushing hard.”

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