According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Pretoria District Court sentenced two police constables from the South African Police Service (SAPS) to four years in direct imprisonment after they were convicted of corruption worth R1000.
Puleng Peter Seshoka and Zakhele Ronnie Mtsheni, both 40, were charged in connection with an event that occurred in February 2019. A motorist they both contacted filed a complaint against them, alleging they demanded R1000 in exchange for not making him pay R5000 in ‘bail’ money.
NPA spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, said:
“On 27 February 2019, when the complainant was at Centurion Mall, the two-constable approached him in his car, telling him his car looked suspicious and demanded to search it. They discovered that the license disk had expired, but still was within the grace period, they then told him to choose between following him to the police station, and R 5000 bail or giving them R1000. After the complainant opted to pay the R1000, they took his belongings while he went to withdraw the funds and returned them when he gave them the money”
The motorist filed a complaint against the cops the next day, according to the NPA, which commended the sentence. The SAPS Anti-Corruption Unit then investigated the case, which resulted in the two constables being summoned to court on October 7, 2020.
They were eventually freed on warning after pleading not guilty to the accusation brought against them.
In an attempt to increase the sentence, Prosecutor Cassius Mona requested the court to impose a sentence that would send a clear message that corruption would not be accepted, particularly in a nation where police personnel are accused of corruption and lack diligence in carrying out their responsibilities.
Mona also told the court that the two constables should have known better since they had been placed in positions of trust and responsibility but had breached that trust.
“The Director of Public Prosecution, Adv. Sibongile Mzinyathi, thanks to the great teamwork done by the investigating team of the SAPS anti-corruption unit, and the Prosecutor which led to the conviction and this sentence,” Mahanjana said.