A Komga police official and his accomplice have been handed significant prison sentences for attempting to defraud the Road Accident Fund (RAF) of R5 million following a fatal crash.
Warrant-Officer Mandlenkosi Njekanye (50) and Xolani Somtsewu (45) were convicted and sentenced by the East London Regional Court on Tuesday, 30 September 2025, on charges of RAF fraud and defeating the ends of justice.
The case stems from a fatal accident on 31 December 2020, when Somtsewu was driving a Nissan NP300 bakkie on the N2 Highway near Komga. The vehicle was involved in a collision that killed his passenger, while Somtsewu sustained a broken arm, cuts, and bruises.
Police attended the scene and initially attributed the accident to a tyre burst, subsequently opening an inquest docket.
However, a year after the accident, the two accused went to the Komga Police Station and instructed the officer on duty to alter the official Accident Report (AR). The officer initially refused but was ultimately coerced into changing the cause of the accident. The report was falsified to align with Somtsewu’s new version of events, in which he claimed he had swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle.
Using this falsified report, the pair lodged a claim with the RAF. The fund’s scrutiny of the two conflicting statements revealed discrepancies, leading to the claim being repudiated. The matter was then referred to the East London Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit for probing.
The Hawks’ investigation established that Njekanye and Somtsewu had colluded to change the Accident Report statements to lodge a fraudulent claim, which nearly prejudiced the RAF of R5 million.
The duo was arrested by the Hawks on 22 November 2023 and appeared in the East London Magistrates Court on the same day. They were each released on R500 bail. After a series of court appearances, their case culminated in a conviction and sentencing this week.
The East London Regional Court sentenced both Njekanye and Somtsewu to 15 years’ direct imprisonment for fraud and a further six years for defeating the ends of justice. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently, with no option of a fine.
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