Pretoria: The East London Regional Court has sentenced Misiwe Phyllis Mpahlwa, former Ngqushwa Local Municipal Manager, along with three other former officials, to three years each for fraud and contravention of the Municipal Financial Management Act (MFMA). The officials include Tinus Matthysen, a former acting Chief Financial Officer, Mkhuseli Wiseman Mxekezo, the former director of corporate services, and Busisiwe Mfunda, a former mayor’s secretary.

According to South African Police Service, the sentencing is based on an incident involving Mxekezo, who authorized irregular expenditure for a Christmas event in December 2019 without following procurement processes. Matthysen further approved payments to service providers without the necessary documentation, despite being on leave. Mfunda initiated the memorandum for procurement and sourced quotations from fictitious service providers, bypassing supply chain management for personal gain. Mpahlwa, as the accounting officer, approved the transaction, leading to unlawful payments.

The investigation by the Hawks uncovered that the officials colluded to deviate from procurement processes for personal enrichment, resulting in a loss of over R273,000 intended for a Christmas programme for elderly residents in Peddie. After several court appearances, the East London Regional Court sentenced each official to three years of direct imprisonment or a fine of R120,000.